It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make inquiry.
(It is) a snare (entailing guilt and penalties on both body and soul) to the man (who) devoureth (that which is) holy (dedicated to sacred uses) and after vows to make inquiry. "Devoureth" - i:e., greedily appropriates to his own use. So Ananias and Sapphira, after vowing, appropriated a part of what they vowed, and sought means of evading the vow, but perished in the attempt. So Achan sought means of appropriating part of the spoils which had been all "devoted as an accursed thing," (margin, Joshua 6:17-18; Joshua 7:1; cf. Malachi 3:8-10; Deuteronomy 23:21; Numbers 30:1.) Many in Malachi's (Malachi 1:13-14) days, after vowing, sought to escape the cost by sacrificing unto the Lord a corrupt thing." The old Hebrew interpreters take the Hebrew for "devoureth" ( yaala` (H3217)) as 'speaketh rashly.' It is a perilous snare for a man to utter rashly a vow, and afterward to inquire whether he is able to pay his vow, for the inquiry ought to have been made before he vowed. The Vulgate supports the English version. The Septuagint, Chaldaic, Syriac, and Arabic translate, 'to vow,' or 'consecrate,' which seems to take the other sense.