Bilangan 30:2

30:2 If a man ¹  makes a vow ²  to the Lord or takes an oath ³  of binding obligation on himself, ⁴  he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised. ⁵ 

Ulangan 23:21

23:21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he ⁶  will surely ⁷  hold you accountable as a sinner. ⁸ 

Ulangan 5:2

5:2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

Ulangan 5:4-5

5:4 The Lord spoke face to face with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire. 5:5 (I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal to you the message ⁹  of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:

¹ tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man] – if….”

² tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”

³ tn The expression is “swear an oath” (הִשָּׁבַע שְׁבֻעָה, hishava’ shÿvu’ah). The vow (נֵדֶר, neder) was a promise to donate something of oneself or one’s substance to the Lord. The solemn oath seals the vow before the Lord, perhaps with sacrifice. The vocabulary recalls Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech and the naming of Beer Sheba with the word (see Gen 21).

⁴ tn The Hebrew text hasלֶאְסֹר אִסָּר (le’sor ’issar), meaning “to take a binding obligation.” This is usually interpreted to mean a negative vow, i.e., the person attempts to abstain from something that is otherwise permissible. It might involve fasting, or abstaining from marital sex, but it might also involve some goal to be achieved, and the abstaining from distractions until the vow is fulfilled (see Ps 132). The נֶדֶר (neder) may have been more for religious matters, and the אִסָּר more for social concerns, but this cannot be documented with certainty.

⁵ tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”

⁶ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁷ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by “surely.”

⁸ tn Heb “and it will be a sin to you”; NIV, NCV, NLT “be guilty of sin.”

⁹ tn Or “word” (so KJV, NASB, NIV); NRSV “words.”