Numbers 30

₁Moses said to the leaders of the tribes of Israel: ‘This is what the Lord said: ₂“When someone makes a promise to the Lord or if he promises to do something and he says that the Lord is his Witness, then he may not break his promise to God. He must do everything that he has promised.

_3-4If a woman is young and she lives with her parents and she makes a promise to the Lord, then she must do everything that she promised. She must do it if she promises to do something and says that the Lord is her Witness, and they tell her father about it and he says nothing. ₅But if they tell her father what she promised the Lord and he immediately tells her that she may not do what she has promised, then she must not do it. If her father tells her not to do it, then the Lord will forgive her if she does not do it.

₆Sometimes a woman who is married also makes a promise to the Lord or she says something before she has thought about what it means. ₇If a woman does that and they tell her husband what she promised, and he says nothing, then she must do what she has promised. ₈But if they tell her husband what she promised, and he immediately tells her that she may not do that, then he stops the promise to God that she has made and he stops her from doing what she has promised before she has thought about what it means. The Lord will forgive her if she does not do it.

₉But a widow or a woman who has been divorced must do what she promises.

₁₀Sometimes a woman who is married makes a promise to the Lord or she promises to do something and says that the Lord is her Witness. ₁₁If she does that and they tell her husband about it and he says nothing, and he does not say that she may not do that, then she must do everything that she has promised. ₁₂But if they tell her husband what she has promised and he immediately stops the promise that she has made, then she must not do what she has promised. Her husband has told her not to do it and the Lord will forgive her if she does not do it. ₁₃Her husband may let her do what she promises to the Lord or he may stop her. ₁₄But if they tell her husband what she promised and he says nothing about it until the next day, then she must do everything that she has promised. He did not say anything when they told him about it, so she must do what she has promised to the Lord. ₁₅But if he waits for a long time and then wants to stop or break the promise to the Lord long after they told him about it, then he is guilty if his wife does not do what she promised to the Lord.” ’

₁₆This is what the Lord said to Moses. These are the laws for a woman who is married or a woman who is young and lives with her father.