swear / vow

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The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “swear (an oath)” or “vow” in English is otherwise translated as:

  • “God sees me, I tell the truth to you” (Tzeltal)
  • “loading yourself down” (Huichol)
  • “speak-stay” (implying permanence of the utterance) (Sayula Popoluca)
  • “say what could not be taken away” (San Blas Kuna)
  • “because of the tight (i.e. ‘binding’) word said to a face” (Guerrero Amuzgo)
  • “strong promise” (North Alaskan Inupiatun) (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • “eat an oath” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • “drink an oath” (Jju) (source: McKinney 2018, p. 31).
  • “cut taboos” (Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Cherokee: “putting one’s hand up to someone” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)

In Bauzi “swear” can be translated in various ways. In Hebrews 6:13, for instance, it is translated with “bones break apart and decisively speak.” (“No bones are literally broken but by saying ‘break bones’ it is like people swear by someone else in this case it is in relation to a rotting corpse’ bones falling apart. If you ‘break bones’ so to speak when you make an utterance, it is a true utterance.”) In other passages, such as in Matthew 26:72, it’s translated with an expression that implies taking ashes (“if a person wants everyone to know that he is telling the truth about a matter, he reaches down into the fireplace, scoops up some ashes and throws them while saying ‘I was not the one who did that.'”). So in Matthew 26:72 the Bauzi text is: “. . . Peter took ashes and defended himself saying, ‘I don’t know that Nazareth person.'” (Source: David Briley)

See also swear (promise) and Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’, or ‘No, No’.

complete verse (Judges 21:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 21:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “Where are we to find women/wives who can marry the remaining men since we vowed that we would never give them our girls/daughters to marry.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Where do we get women for the remaining Benjaminite men? For we have sworn an oath before the LORD that we will not give our daughters [to them] in marriage.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Where can- we (incl.) -look for-a-wife for the remaining Benjaminhon, for we (incl.) have- already -promised the LORD that we (incl.) will- never -cause-to-become-wife with them our (incl.) female children/(daughters)?’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Yahweh heard us solemnly declare that we would not allow any of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin. What can we do to make certain that the men of the tribe of Benjamin who were not killed will have wives?’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Judges 21:7

The speech of the Israelites continues here. At the first assembly they had vowed that none of their daughters could marry a Benjaminite (verse 21.1), and certainly during the war many Benjaminite women must have been killed or captured. Even though the Israelites were responsible for the situation, here they try to figure out how the 600 surviving Benjaminite soldiers will find wives (verse 20.47). To express this dilemma, they ask a rhetorical question.

What shall we do for wives for those who are left…? is literally “What will we do for them, for those who are left for wives…?” The Israelites take responsibility for finding wives for the surviving Benjaminite soldiers. Do renders a very general Hebrew verb, which Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh render more explicitly as “do to provide.” Those who are left refers to the soldiers who were not killed. We may say “those who survived.” The Hebrew root for the verb rendered are left is the same one used elsewhere in the Old Testament to refer to the “remnant” in Israel. If this is an allusion to those left behind in Israel during the Exile or to those in exile who could return to Jerusalem from Babylonia, this would date the text of Judges to a late date, during the time of the deuteronomic school. The use of this root would bring yet another note of irony to this text. Revised Standard Version‘s rendering can serve as a good model here.

Since we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives: See verse 21.1. This clause gives the reason why the Israelites need to find wives for the surviving Benjaminites. Since we have sworn by the LORD renders an emphatic expression in Hebrew, which is literally “and we ourselves have sworn by Yahweh.” To swear an oath by the LORD means to use Yahweh’s name when making a promise. Such an oath usually involves calling on Yahweh to curse the one who does not keep the promise made. It is like saying “May Yahweh strike me dead if I do not…” (see Ruth 1.17). This expression is probably the strongest kind of vow that could have been made. Therefore the Israelites know it would be dangerous to break this promise. This clause may be rendered “because we solemnly swore in Yahweh’s name not to allow any of our daughters to marry a Benjaminite.”

In those languages that need to give the reason first, this whole verse may be rendered as follows:

• We made a solemn promise in Yahweh’s name not to allow any of our daughters to marry a Benjaminite, so what can we do now to provide wives for those who survived [the war]?”

Another possible model is:

• What can we do to ensure that the Benjaminite survivors find wives? We solemnly promised Yahweh that we would not allow any of our daughters to marry a Benjaminite.”

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Judges 21:7

21:7a What should we do about wives for the survivors,

How will we find wives for the Benjamin men who are still alive?
-or-
Only a few Benjamin men are still alive. Who will they marry?

21:7b since we have sworn by the LORD

⌊We cannot give them wives⌋ because we swore an oath to Yahweh
-or-
⌊They cannot marry our daughters⌋ because we promised Yahweh

21:7c not to give them our daughters in marriage?”

that we would not let them marry our daughters.”
-or-
not to let our daughters marry them.”

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