² “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ^(A)‘When a man ^[a]consecrates by a vow certain persons to the Lord, according to your ^[b]valuation,

^21 (A)“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. ²² But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. ^23 (B)That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.

³⁰ And Jephthah ^(A)made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands,

³¹ then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, ^(A)shall surely be the Lord’s, ^(B)and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

³⁵ And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he ^(A)tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I ^(B)have ^[a]given my word to the Lord, and ^(C)I cannot ^[b]go back on it.”