Deuteronomy 23:18

23:18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute ¹  or the wage of a male prostitute ²  into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 23:2

23:2 A person of illegitimate birth ³  may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so. ⁴ 

Deuteronomy 15:7

The Spirit of Liberality

15:7 If a fellow Israelite ⁵  from one of your villages ⁶  in the land that the Lord your God is giving you should be poor, you must not harden your heart or be insensitive ⁷  to his impoverished condition. ⁸ 

Job 22:27

22:27 You will pray to him and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him. ⁹ 

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

5:4 When you make a vow ¹⁰  to God, do not delay in paying it. ¹¹ 

For God ¹²  takes no pleasure in fools:

Pay what you vow!

5:5 It is better for you not to vow

than to vow and not pay it. ¹³ 

¹ tn Here the Hebrew term זוֹנָה (zonah) refers to a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) female prostitute; see note on the phrase “sacred prostitute” in v. 17.

² tn Heb “of a dog.” This is the common Hebrew term for a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) male prostitute. See note on the phrase “sacred male prostitute” in v. 17.

³ tn Or “a person born of an illegitimate marriage.”

⁴ tn Heb “enter the assembly of the Lord.” The phrase “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁵ tn Heb “one of your brothers” (so NASB); NAB “one of your kinsmen”; NRSV “a member of your community.” See the note at v. 2.

⁶ tn Heb “gates.”

⁷ tn Heb “withdraw your hand.” Cf. NIV “hardhearted or tightfisted” (NRSV and NLT similar).

⁸ tn Heb “from your needy brother.”

⁹ tn The words “to him” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

¹⁰ tn Heb “vow a vow.” The phrase תִּדֹּר נֶדֶר (tiddor neder, “to vow a vow”) is a Hebrew idiom in which the root נדר is repeated for emphasis. The construction is a cognate accusative (see IBHS 166-67 §10.2.1f). The verb נָדַר (nadar, “to vow”) refers to the action of making a solemn promise to the Lord to perform an action or offer a sacrifice, e.g., Lev 27:8; Num 6:21; 30:11; Deut 23:23-24; Jonah 2:10; Mal 1:14; Pss 76:12; 132:2; see HALOT 674 s.v. נדר. The noun נֶדֶר (“vow”) was a gift or offering promised to be given to the Lord (Num 30:3; Deut 12:11; 23:19; Isa 19:12; Nah 2:1 [ET 1:15]; Ps 61:6, 9); see HALOT 674–75 s.v. נֵדֶר. It usually was a sacrifice or free-will offering (Deut 12:6; Ps 66:13) that was often promised during times of pressure (Judg 11:30; 1 Sam 1:11; 2 Sam 15:7-8; Pss 22:25; 66:13; 116:14, 18; Jonah 2:9).

¹¹ tn The term לְשַׁלְּמוֹ (lÿshallÿmo, preposition + Piel infinitive construct from שָׁלַם, shalam + 3rd person masculine singular suffix) is derived from the root שׁלם which is used in a general sense of paying a debt (2 Kgs 4:7; Ps 37:21; Prov 22:27; Job 41:3), and more specifically of fulfilling a vow to the Lord (Deut 23:22; 2 Sam 15:7; Pss 22:26; 50:14; 61:9; 66:13; 76:12; 116:14, 18; Prov 7:14; Job 22:27; Isa 19:21; Jonah 2:10; Nah 2:1); see HALOT 1535 s.v. שׁלם 3a; BDB 1022 s.v. שָׁלֵם 4. An Israelite was never required to make a vow, but once made, it had to be paid (Lev 22:18-25; 27:1-13; Num 15:2-10; Nah 1:15 [2:1 HT]).

¹² tn Heb “he”; the referent (“God”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn The word “it” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.