She madea vowand said,"O LORDof hosts,ifYou will indeedlookon the afflictionof Your maidservantand rememberme, and not forgetYour maidservant,but will giveYour maidservanta son,then I will givehim to the LORDallthe daysof his life,and a razorshall nevercomeon his head."
Then Jacobmadea vow,saying,"IfGodwill be with me and will keepme on thisjourneythat I take,and will giveme foodto eatand garmentsto wear,
Leahconceivedand borea sonand namedhim Reuben,for she said,"Becausethe LORDhas seenmy affliction;surelynowmy husbandwill loveme."
Then GodrememberedRachel,and Godgaveheedto her and openedher womb.
But GodrememberedNoahand allthe beastsand allthe cattlethat were with him in the ark;and Godcaused a windto passoverthe earth,and the watersubsided.
"Perhapsthe LORDwill lookon my afflictionand returngoodto me insteadof his cursingthisday."
Lookupon my afflictionand my trouble,And forgiveallmy sins.
So the peoplebelieved;and when they heardthat the LORDwas concernedabout the sonsof Israeland that He had seentheir affliction,then they bowedlowand worshiped.
What,O my son?And what,O sonof my womb?And what,O sonof my vows?
Whenyou makea vowto God,do not be latein payingit; for [He takes] nodelightin fools.Paywhatyou vow!
"Speakto the sonsof Israeland sayto them, 'Whena manmakesa difficultvow,he [shall be valued] according to your valuationof personsbelonging to the LORD.
So Israelmadea vowto the LORDand said,"IfYou will indeeddeliverthispeopleinto my hand,then I will utterlydestroytheir cities."
The priestshall offeronefor a sinofferingand [the] otherfor a burntoffering,and makeatonementfor him concerninghis sinbecauseof the [dead] person.And that samedayhe shall consecratehis head,
Allthe daysof his vowof separationnorazorshall passoverhis head.He shall be holyuntilthe daysare fulfilledfor whichhe separatedhimself to the LORD;he shall let the locksof hairon his headgrowlong.
Allthe daysof his separationhe is holyto the LORD.
Jephthahmadea vowto the LORDand said,"IfYou will indeedgivethe sonsof Ammoninto my hand,
"For behold,you shall conceiveand givebirthto a son,and norazorshall comeupon his head,for the boyshall be a Naziriteto Godfrom the womb;and he shall beginto deliverIsraelfrom the handsof the Philistines."
She, greatlydistressed,prayedto the LORDand weptbitterly.
Now it cameabout, as she continuedprayingbeforethe LORD,that Eliwas watchingher mouth.
Then they aroseearlyin the morningand worshipedbeforethe LORD,and returnedagainto their housein Ramah.And Elkanahhadrelationswith Hannahhis wife,and the LORDrememberedher.
But Hannahdid not goup, for she saidto her husband,"[I will not go up] untilthe childis weaned;then I will bringhim, that he may appearbeforethe LORDand staythereforever."
"For thisboyI prayed,and the LORDhas givenme my petitionwhichI askedof Him.
"So I have alsodedicatedhim to the LORD;as longas he liveshe is dedicatedto the LORD."And he worshipedthe LORDthere.
Then Eliwould blessElkanahand his wifeand say,"May the LORDgiveyou childrenfrom thiswomanin placeof the oneshe dedicatedto the LORD."And they wentto their own home.
