Speaking sacred vows rashly traps a person, because words spoken before God cannot be revised by changing one's mind.
Solomon warns about rash sacred speech in Proverbs 20:25: It is a trap for a man to say rashly, "It is holy!" and after the vows to make inquiry (v. 25). Vows in Israel often involved declaring something dedicated to the LORD.
To say rashly "It is holy!" is to declare something set apart for God before counting the cost. Solomon names this hasty declaration a trap. The trap closes once the words are spoken, because words spoken before God are not negotiable simply because the speaker has changed his mind.
To then make inquiry only after the vow is to be ensnared by one's own mouth. Jesus picks up exactly this concern: "let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'" (Matthew 5:37). The wise person measures words before sacred ones leave his mouth.
Proverbs 20:25
25 It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!”
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Proverbs 20:25 meaning
Solomon warns about rash sacred speech in Proverbs 20:25: It is a trap for a man to say rashly, "It is holy!" and after the vows to make inquiry (v. 25). Vows in Israel often involved declaring something dedicated to the LORD.
To say rashly "It is holy!" is to declare something set apart for God before counting the cost. Solomon names this hasty declaration a trap. The trap closes once the words are spoken, because words spoken before God are not negotiable simply because the speaker has changed his mind.
To then make inquiry only after the vow is to be ensnared by one's own mouth. Jesus picks up exactly this concern: "let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'" (Matthew 5:37). The wise person measures words before sacred ones leave his mouth.