A vow to the Lord, once made, was to be religiously kept; the Lord would require it, and to refuse or neglect to pay it would be held a sin. No one, however, was under any obligation to vow—that was to be a purely voluntary act. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform … according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God of free-will ( נְדָבָה, spontaneously). (For the law concerning vows in general, see Leviticus 27:1-34, and Numbers 30:1-16.)
In the vineyard or cornfield of a neighbor they might eat to appease hunger, but no store of grapes or of grain might be carried away. At thine own pleasure; literally, according to thy soul, i.e. desire or appetite (cf. Deuteronomy 14:26). Pluck the ears with thine hand (cf. Matthew 12:1; Luke 6:1). Among the Arabs of the present day the right of a hungry person to pluck ears of corn in a field and eat the grains is still recognized (Robinson, 'Bib. Res.,' 2:192; Thomson, 'Land and the Book,' 2:510).
HOMILETICS