Numbers 30

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Moses told the Israelites exactly what Yahweh had ordered him.	1 Moses then gave the Israelites these instructions, just as the LORD had ordered him.
2 Moses spoke to the tribal leaders of the Israelites and said, 'This is what Yahweh has ordered:	2 Moses said to the heads of the Israelite tribes, "This is what the LORD has commanded:
3 "If a man makes a vow to Yahweh or a formal pledge under oath, he must not break his word:whatever he promises by word of mouth he must do.	3 When a man makes a vow to the LORD or binds himself under oath to a pledge of abstinence, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered.
4 "If a woman makes a vow to Yahweh or a formal pledge during her youth, while she is stil in her father's house,	4 "When a woman, while still a maiden in her father's house, makes a vow to the LORD, or binds herself to a pledge,
5 and if her father hears about this vow or pledge made by her and says nothing to her, her vow,whatever it may be, will be binding, and the pledge she has taken, whatever it may be, will be binding.	5 if her father learns of her vow or the pledge to which she bound herself and says nothing to her about it, then any vow or any pledge she has made remains valid.
6 But if her father on the day he learns of it expresses his disapproval of it, then none of the vows orpledges she has taken wil be binding. Yahweh will not hold her to it, since her father has expressed hisdisapproval.	6 But if on the day he learns of it her father expresses to her his disapproval, then any vow or any pledge she has made becomes null and void; and the LORD releases her from it, since her father has expressed to her his disapproval.
7 "If, being bound by vows or by a pledge voiced without due reflection, she then marries,	7 "If she marries while under a vow or under a rash pledge to which she bound herself,
8 and if her husband hears of it but says nothing on the day he learns of it, her vows wil be binding andthe pledges she has taken will be binding.	8 and her husband learns of it, yet says nothing to her that day about it, then the vow or pledge she had made remains valid.
9 But if on the day he learns of it he expresses his disapproval to her, this wil annul the vow that shehas made or the pledge that binds her, voiced without due reflection. Yahweh wil not hold her to it.	9 But if on the day he learns of it her husband expresses to her his disapproval, he thereby annuls the vow she had made or the rash pledge to which she had bound herself, and the LORD releases her from it.
10 "The vow of a widow or a divorced woman and al pledges taken by her are binding on her.	10 The vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, or any pledge to which such a woman binds herself, is valid.
11 "If she has made a vow or taken a pledge under oath while in her husband's house,	11 "If it is in her husband's house that she makes a vow or binds herself under oath to a pledge,
12 and if when the husband learns of it he says nothing to her and does not express disapproval to her,then the vow, whatever it is, wil be binding, and the pledge, whatever it is, will be binding.	12 and her husband learns of it yet says nothing to express to her his disapproval, then any vow or any pledge she has made remains valid.
13 But if the husband when he hears of it annuls it on the day he learns of it, no undertaking of hers, beit vow or pledge, will be binding. Since the husband has annul ed it, Yahweh wil not hold her to it.	13 But if on the day he learns of them her husband annuls them, then whatever she has expressly promised in her vow or in her pledge becomes null and void; since her husband has annulled them, the LORD releases her from them.
14 "Every vow or oath that is binding on the wife may be endorsed or annul ed by the husband.	14 "Any vow or any pledge that she makes under oath to mortify herself, her husband can either allow to remain valid or render null and void.
15 "If by the fol owing day the husband has said nothing to her, it means that he endorses her vow,whatever it may be, or her pledge, whatever it may be. He endorses them if he says nothing on the day helearns of them.	15 But if her husband, day after day, says nothing at all to her about them, he thereby allows as valid any vow or any pledge she has made; he has allowed them to remain valid, because on the day he learned of them he said nothing to her about them.
16 But if, having learnt of them, he annuls them later, he wil bear the consequences for his wife's guilt."'	16 If, however, he countermands them some time after he first learned of them, he is responsible for her guilt."
17 Such were the laws which Yahweh prescribed to Moses, concerning the relationship between a manand his wife, and between a father and his daughter while stil young and living in her father's home.	17 These are the statutes which the LORD prescribed through Moses concerning the relationship between a husband and his wife, as well as between a father and his daughter while she is still a maiden in her father's house.