Deuteronomy 23:21-25

23:21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he ¹  will surely ²  hold you accountable as a sinner. ³  23:22 If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. 23:23 Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering. 23:24 When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please, ⁴  but you must not take away any in a container. ⁵  23:25 When you go into the ripe grain fields of your neighbor you may pluck off the kernels with your hand, ⁶  but you must not use a sickle on your neighbor’s ripe grain.

¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

² tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by “surely.”

³ tn Heb “and it will be a sin to you”; NIV, NCV, NLT “be guilty of sin.”

⁴ tn Heb “grapes according to your appetite, your fullness.”

⁵ tn Heb “in your container”; NAB, NIV “your basket.”

⁶ sn For the continuation of these practices into NT times see Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5.