Vows and Oaths

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

Swear not at all; let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay.

But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:

Swear not at all; let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay.

Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

Swear not at all; let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay.

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

Swear not at all; let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay.

But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

Swear not at all; let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay.

When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.

When thou vowest a vow, defer not to pay it; better not to vow.

Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

When thou vowest a vow, defer not to pay it; better not to vow.

If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.

If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, he shall not break his word.

When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

When thou shalt vow a vow, thou shalt not slack to pay it.

But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.

When thou shalt vow a vow, thou shalt not slack to pay it.

That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

When thou shalt vow a vow, thou shalt not slack to pay it.

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth; let your yea be yea.

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the LORD delivered them into his hands.

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back.

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

And she said unto him, My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the LORD, do to me according to that which hath proceeded out of thy mouth; forasmuch as the LORD hath taken vengeance for thee of thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon.

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows.

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two months: and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains.

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed: and she knew no man. And it was a custom in Israel,

Jephthah's rash vow and its tragic fulfillment.

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD:

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

All the days that he separateth himself unto the LORD he shall come at no dead body.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And if any man die very suddenly by him, and he hath defiled the head of his consecration; then he shall shave his head in the day of his cleansing, on the seventh day shall he shave it.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And on the eighth day he shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons, to the priest, to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And the priest shall offer the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, and make an atonement for him, for that he sinned by the dead, and shall hallow his head that same day.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And he shall consecrate unto the LORD the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And he shall offer his offering unto the LORD, one he lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings,

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mingled with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, and their meat offering, and their drink offerings.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And the priest shall bring them before the LORD, and shall offer his sin offering, and his burnt offering:

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And he shall offer the ram for a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD, with the basket of unleavened bread: the priest shall offer also his meat offering, and his drink offering.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And the Nazarite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it in the fire which is under the sacrifice of the peace offerings.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

And the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: this is holy for the priest, with the wave breast and heave shoulder: and after that the Nazarite may drink wine.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the LORD for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.

The Nazirite vow — its requirements and consummation.

In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.

For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.

Men verily swear by the greater; God confirmed his promise by an oath.

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:

Men verily swear by the greater; God confirmed his promise by an oath.

That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

Men verily swear by the greater; God confirmed his promise by an oath.

It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.

It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.