Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?

Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin: and say not before the angel: There is no providence: lest God be angry at thy words, and destroy all the works of thy hands.

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an inadvertence. Wherefore should God be wroth at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger, that 'it is an error,' why is God wroth because of thy voice, and hath destroyed the work of thy hands?

Suffer not your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; neither say you before the angel, that it was an error: why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?

Let not your mouth make your flesh do evil. And say not before the angel, It was an error. So that God may not be angry with your words and put an end to the work of your hands.

Suffer not thy mouth to bring thy flesh into guilt, neither say thou before the messenger, that it was an error; wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?

You should not use your mouth so as to cause your flesh to sin. And you should not say, in the sight of an Angel, "There is no Providence." For God, being angry at your words, may scatter all the works of your hands.

Suffer not thy mouth - i. e., Do not make rash vows which may hereafter be the cause of evasion and prevarication, and remain unfulfilled.
Before the angel - The Septuagint and some other versions render "before the face of God," meaning a spiritual being representing the presence of God, a minister of divine justice Exodus 23:21, such a one as inflicted judgment upon David 2-Samuel 24:17. Others, with less probability, understand the angel to be a priest, and refer to Malachi 2:7.

Neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error - Nor think of saying "before the cruel angel, who shall exercise authority over thee in the judgment of the great day, that thou didst it through ignorance." - Chaldee. I believe by the angel nothing else is intended than the priest, whose business it was to take cognizance of vows and offerings. See Leviticus 5:4, Leviticus 5:5. In Malachi 2:7, the priest is called the "angel of the Lord of hosts."

Allow not thy mouth to cause thy (d) flesh to sin; neither say thou before the (e) angel, that it [was] an error: why should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thy hands?
(d) Do not cause yourself to sin by vowing rashly as they do who make a vow to live unmarried and such like.
(e) That is, before God's messenger when he will examine your doing, as though your ignorance should be a just excuse.

Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin,.... That is, himself, who is corrupt and depraved; either by making a rash vow, which it is not in his power to keep; or such is the corruption of his nature, and the weakness of the flesh, that he cannot keep it; or by making sinful excuses after he has made the vow, and so is guilty of lying, or false swearing, or other sins of the flesh. Jarchi by "flesh" understands his children, on whom his iniquity may be visited and punished; and the Targum interprets this punishment of the judgment or condemnation of hell; see Proverbs 20:25;
neither say thou before the angel that it was an error; that it was done ignorantly and through mistake: that it was not intended, and that this was not the meaning of the vow; and therefore desires to be excused performing it, or to offer a sacrifice in lieu of it. Interpreters are divided about the angel before whom such an excuse should not be made. Some think angel is put for angels in general, in whose presence, and before whom, as witnesses, vows are made; and who were signified by the cherubim in the sanctuary, where they were to be performed, and who are present in the worshipping assemblies of saints, where these things are done, 1-Timothy 5:21; others think the guardian angel is meant, which they suppose every man has; and others that Christ, the Angel of the covenant, is designed, who is in the midst of his people, sees and knows all that is done by them, and will not admit of their excuses; but it is most probable the priest is intended, called the angel, or messenger, of the Lord of hosts, Malachi 2:7; to whom such who had made vows applied to be loosed from them, acknowledging their error in making them; or to offer sacrifice for their sin of ignorance, Leviticus 5:4;
wherefore should God be angry at thy voice; either in making a rash and sinful vow, or in excusing that which was made;
and destroy the work of thine hands? wrought with success, for which the vow was made; and so, instead of its succeeding, is destroyed, and comes to nothing. Vows made by the Jews were chiefly about their houses, or fields, or cattle; see Leviticus 27:28; and so the destruction suggested may signify the curse that God would bring upon any of these, for excusing or not performing the vow made.

thy flesh--Vow not with "thy mouth" a vow (for example, fasting), which the lusts of the flesh ("body," Ecclesiastes 2:3, Margin) may tempt thee to break (Proverbs 20:25).
angel--the "messenger" of God (Job 33:23); minister (Revelation 1:20); that is, the priest (Malachi 2:7) "before" whom a breach of a vow was to be confessed (Leviticus 5:4-5). We, Christians, in our vows (for example, at baptism, the Lord's Supper, &c.) vow in the presence of Jesus Christ, "the angel of the covenant" (Malachi 3:1), and of ministering angels as witnesses (1-Corinthians 11:10; 1-Timothy 5:21). Extenuate not any breach of them as a slight error.

Thy mouth - By any rash vow. Thy flesh - Thyself, the word flesh being often put for the whole man. The angel - The priest or ministers of holy things. Such persons are often called angels, or, as this Hebrew word is commonly rendered, messengers. And this title seems to be given to the priest here, because the vow made to God, was paid to the priest as one standing and acting in God's name and stead, and it belonged to him, as God's angel or ambassador, to discharge persons from their vows when there was just occasion. It was - I did unadvisedly in making such a vow. Angry - Why wilt thou provoke God to anger at these frivolous excuses? Destroy - Blast all thy labours, and particularly that work or enterprize for the success whereof thou didst make these vows.