Vows and oaths

Vows and oaths are solemn commitments: a vow is a promise made to God, and an oath is a sworn statement calling on God as witness. Vows are to be kept, and speech is to be plain and truthful.

Keeping vows

• Numbers 30:2
  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 makes a vow to the LORD or swears an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word; he must do everything he has promised.
  Show context · Read Numbers 30 →
• Deuteronomy 23:21-23
  ²¹When 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.If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. ²²But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin. ²³That 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.Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
  Show context · Read Deuteronomy 23 →
• Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
  ⁴When 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 you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow. ⁵Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
  Show context · Read Ecclesiastes 5 →
• Psalm 116:14
  I will pay my vows unto the LORD now in the presence of all his people.I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people.
  Show context · Read Psalm 116 →

Rash vows

• Proverbs 20:25
  It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly, only later to reconsider his vows.
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• Judges 11:30-35
  ³⁰And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,Jephthah made this vow to the LORD: “If indeed You will deliver the Ammonites into my hand, ³¹Then 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.then whatever comes out the door of my house to greet me on my triumphant return from the Ammonites will belong to the LORD, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.” ³²So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them, and the LORD delivered them into his hand. ³³And 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.With a great blow he devastated twenty cities from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the Israelites. ³⁴And 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.And when Jephthah returned home to Mizpah, there was his daughter coming out to meet him with tambourines and dancing! She was his only child; he had no son or daughter besides her. ³⁵And 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.As soon as Jephthah saw her, he tore his clothes and said, “No! Not my daughter! You have brought me to my knees! You have brought great misery upon me, for I have given my word to the LORD and cannot take it back.”
  Show context · Read Judges 11 →

Let your yea be yea

• Matthew 5:33-37
  ³³Again, 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:Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ ³⁴But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. ³⁷But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.
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• James 5:12
  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.Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.
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Swearing falsely

• Leviticus 19:12
  And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
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• Zechariah 8:17
  And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord.do not plot evil in your hearts against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely, for I hate all these things,” declares the LORD.
  Show context · Read Zechariah 8 →
• Matthew 23:16-22
  ¹⁶Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? ¹⁸And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty.And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred? ²⁰Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein.And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. ²²And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.
  Show context · Read Matthew 23 →

God's oath

• Hebrews 6:13-18
  ¹³For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself, ¹⁴Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.saying, “I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants.” ¹⁵And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.And so Abraham, after waiting patiently, obtained the promise. ¹⁶For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and their oath serves as a confirmation to end all argument. ¹⁷Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath. ¹⁸That 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:Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.
  Show context · Read Hebrews 6 →
• Genesis 22:16-17
  ¹⁶And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son, ¹⁷That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
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Vows in Scripture

• 1 Samuel 1:11
  And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.And she made a vow, pleading, “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever come over his head.”
  Show context · Read 1 Samuel 1 →
• Numbers 6:2-5
  ²Speak 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:“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD, ³He 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.he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat fresh grapes or raisins. ⁴All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk.All the days of his separation, he is not to eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. ⁵All 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.For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head. He must be holy until the time of his separation to the LORD is complete; he must let the hair of his head grow long.
  Show context · Read Numbers 6 →
• Acts 18:18
  And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow.Paul remained in Corinth for quite some time before saying goodbye to the brothers. He had his head shaved in Cenchrea to keep a vow he had made, and then he sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.
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• Psalm 15:4
  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.who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,
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See also

• Speech
• Integrity
• Lying
• Cursing
• Faithfulness of God

Notes

1. Verses are quoted in the translation chosen in the Translation menu at the top of the page. See Translations for sources and copyright notices.
2. Each reference links to the full chapter so the verse can be read in context.