Bilangan 30:2

30:2 If a man ¹  makes a vow ²  to the Lord or takes an oath ³  of binding obligation on himself, ⁴  he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised. ⁵ 

Mazmur 116:14

116:14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord

before all his people.

Mazmur 5:3-4

5:3 Lord, in the morning ⁶  you will hear ⁷  me; ⁸ 

in the morning I will present my case to you ⁹  and then wait expectantly for an answer. ¹⁰ 

5:4 Certainly ¹¹  you are not a God who approves of evil; ¹² 

evil people ¹³  cannot dwell with you. ¹⁴ 

[30:2]  ¹ tn The legal construction states the class to which the law applies, and then lays down the condition: “men [man] – if….”

[30:2]  ² tn The Hebrew text uses a cognate accusative construction to express this: “a man if he vows a vow.”

[30:2]  ³ tn The expression is “swear an oath” (הִשָּׁבַע שְׁבֻעָה, hishava’ shÿvu’ah). The vow (נֵדֶר, neder) was a promise to donate something of oneself or one’s substance to the Lord. The solemn oath seals the vow before the Lord, perhaps with sacrifice. The vocabulary recalls Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech and the naming of Beer Sheba with the word (see Gen 21).

[30:2]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text hasלֶאְסֹר אִסָּר (le’sor ’issar), meaning “to take a binding obligation.” This is usually interpreted to mean a negative vow, i.e., the person attempts to abstain from something that is otherwise permissible. It might involve fasting, or abstaining from marital sex, but it might also involve some goal to be achieved, and the abstaining from distractions until the vow is fulfilled (see Ps 132). The נֶדֶר (neder) may have been more for religious matters, and the אִסָּר more for social concerns, but this cannot be documented with certainty.

[30:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “according to all that goes out of his mouth.”

[5:3]  ⁶ sn In the morning is here viewed as the time of prayer (Pss 59:16; 88:13) and/or of deliverance (Ps 30:5).

[5:3]  ⁷ tn The imperfect is here understood in a specific future sense; the psalmist is expressing his confidence that God will be willing to hear his request. Another option is to understand the imperfect as expressing the psalmist’s wish or request. In this case one could translate, “Lord, in the morning hear me.”

[5:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “my voice.”

[5:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “I will arrange for you.” Some understand a sacrifice or offering as the implied object (cf. NEB “I set out my morning sacrifice”). The present translation assumes that the implied object is the psalmist’s case/request. See Isa 44:7.

[5:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and I will watch.”

[5:4]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[5:4]  ¹² tn Heb “not a God [who] delights [in] wickedness [are] you.”

[5:4]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew text has simply the singular form רע, which may be taken as an abstract noun “evil” (the reference to “wickedness” in the preceding line favors this; cf. NEB, NASB, NRSV) or as a substantival adjective “evil one” (the references to evil people in the next two verses favor this; cf. NIV “with you the wicked cannot dwell”).

[5:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “cannot dwell as a resident alien [with] you.” The negated imperfect verbal form here indicates incapability or lack of permission. These people are morally incapable of dwelling in God’s presence and are not permitted to do so.

[5:4]  sn Only the godly are allowed to dwell with the Lord. Evil people are excluded. See Ps 15.