Proverbs 20:25
You should think carefully before you solemnly promise to dedicate something to God, because later you might be sorry you have promised to do it.
Translation for Translators
In The King James Version
It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.
In Context
Cross References
Leviticus 5:15“When you sin, without intending to, by not giving to Yahweh the things that you are required to give to him, you must pay a penalty by bringing to Yahweh a ram that has no defects. You must determine how much silver it is worth, by using the official standard in the temple. It will be an offering to cause you to no longer be guilty.
Leviticus 27:9‘If someone solemnly promises to give an animal that is acceptable to be an offering to me, that animal becomes sacred and belongs to me.
Numbers 30:2“If a man solemnly promises Yahweh that he will do something, he must do what he promised.
Deuteronomy 23:23But if you voluntarily promise to do something, you must do it.
Judges 21:22If their fathers or brothers come to us and complain about what you have done, we will say to them, ‘Be kind to the men of the tribe of Benjamin. When we fought them, we did not leave any women alive to become their wives, and you did not give those young women to the men from the tribe of Benjamin. They stole them. So you will not be guilty, even though you said that you would not allow any of your daughters to marry one of them.’”
Ecclesiastes 5:2Think carefully before you speak [MTY] or before you promise God that you will do something [IDM]. Do not forget that God is in heaven and he is all-powerful and you are here on the earth, so think carefully before you make any promises to God.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 20:25
24 Man's goings are of the Lord ; how can a man then understand his own way? We are here taught that in all our affairs, 1. We have a necessary and constant dependence upon God. All our natural actions depend upon his providence, all our spiritual actions upon his grace. The best man is no better than God makes him; and every creature is that to us which it is the will of God that it should be. Our enterprises succeed, not as we desire and design, but as God directs and disposes. The goings even of a strong man… Read the whole commentary →