1 Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: This is what Jehovah has commanded about vows:
2 »If a man makes a vow to Jehovah that he will do something or swears an oath that he will not do something, he must not break his word. He must do everything he said he would do.
3 »A young girl, who still lives in her fathers house, might make a vow to Jehovah that she will do something or swear an oath that she will not do something.
4 »She must do everything that she vowed or promised unless her father raises an objection when he hears about it.
5 »If her father forbids her to fulfill the vow when he hears about it, she is not required to keep it. Jehovah will forgive her, because her father refused to let her keep it.
6 »If an unmarried woman makes a vow, whether deliberately or carelessly, or promises to abstain from something, and then marries,
7 she must do everything that she vowed or promised unless her husband raises an objection when he hears about it.
8 »If her husband forbids her to fulfill the vow when he hears about it, she is not required to keep it. Jehovah will forgive her.
9 »A widow or a divorced woman must keep every vow she makes and every promise to abstain from something.
10 »If a married woman makes a vow or promises to abstain from something,
11 her husband may hear about it but may say nothing and not object. Then her vow or oath must be kept.
12 »But if her husband cancels it when he hears about it, nothing she said in her vow or oath has to be kept. Her husband has canceled it. Jehovah will free her from this vow or oath.
13 »A husband decides whether or not his wife has to keep any vow to do something or any oath to do without something.
14 »If he says nothing to her about it day after day, this means he decided that she must keep her vow or oath. She must keep it because he said nothing to her when he heard about it.
15 »If he cancels it later, he will suffer the consequences.«
16 These are the laws Jehovah gave Moses for husbands and wives, and for fathers with young daughters still living at home.