Numbers 30:3-5

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Numbers 30:3 tn The qualification comes at the end of the verse, and simply says “in her youth.”
2. Numbers 30:3 tn The Hebrew text just has “in her father’s house” and not “who is still living,” but that is the meaning of the line.
3. Numbers 30:4 tn The intent of this expression is that he does not object to the vow.
4. Numbers 30:4 tn The verb קוּם (qum) is best translated “stand” here, but the idea with it is that what she vows is established as a genuine oath with the father’s approval (or acquiescence).
5. Numbers 30:5 tn The idiom is “in the day of,” but it is used in place of a preposition before the infinitive construct with its suffixed subjective genitive. The clause is temporal.
6. Numbers 30:5 tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”
7. Numbers 30:5 tn The verb has often been translated “forgive” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, NLT), but that would suggest a sin that needed forgiving. The idea of “release from obligation” is better; the idea is like that of having a debt “forgiven” or “retired.” In other words, she is free from the vow she had made. The Lord will not hold the woman responsible to do what she vowed.