Kol Nidre (All Vows): A Prayer for Yom Kippur

Kol Nidre, also spelled Kol Nidrei, means “all vows.” It is the Aramaic declaration chanted at the beginning of the Yom Kippur evening service, asking that rash personal vows made toward God be annulled.

If you came looking for the Kol Nidre prayer text, the full Aramaic, transliteration, and English translation are below. After the text, we will walk through what it means, what it does not mean, and how a believer in Yeshua (Jesus) can use it honestly.

When Kol Nidre is said

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is observed from evening to evening, as Leviticus 23:27-32 commands. Kol Nidre is said at the opening of the evening service, just as the holy day begins. In many synagogues the Torah scrolls are taken from the ark, and the cantor chants Kol Nidre three times.

Because Kol Nidre functions as a formal release from vows, many communities begin it before sunset. You may also see people wearing a tallit, a prayer shawl, on this night, which is unusual for an evening service. Many worshipers wear white on Yom Kippur as a sign of humility, repentance, and burial-like simplicity. We explain that custom more fully in White Clothing on Atonement Day.

The exact author and date of Kol Nidre are unknown. The prayer was already in use during the Geonic period, 589-1038 CE, when the Jewish academies of Babylonia shaped much of Jewish religious life. That means Kol Nidre is old, but it is not a first-century prayer.

A common explanation connects Kol Nidre with times of persecution, when Jews were forced under threat of death to accept Christianity or Islam. In that setting, the words carried the pain of people saying before God and the community that coerced vows were not the true intention of their hearts. That may explain how later generations heard the prayer with such force, but the prayer itself is already attested in the Geonic period, so we should be careful not to reduce its whole origin to one later story.

Transliteration of Kol Nidre:

Kol nidrei ve’esarei ush’vu’ei vacharamei vekonamei vechinuyei vekinusei dindarna, ud’ishtabana, ud’acharimna, ud’asarna al nafshatana, miyom Kippurim zeh ad yom Kippurim haba aleinu letovah, bechull’hon icharatna vehon, kull’hon yehon sharan, shevikin, shevitin, beteilin, u’mevutalin, la sheririn vela kayamin, nidrana la nidrei, ve’esarana la esarei, ush’vuatana la shevuot.

Kol Nidre Prayer in Aramaic:

כָּל נִדְרֵי וֶאֱסָרֵי וּשְׁבוּעֵי וַחֲרָמֵי וְקוֹנָמֵי וְכִנּוּיֵי וְקִנוּסֵי דִּנְדַֽרְנָא וּדְאִשְׁתַּבַּֽעְנָא. וּדְאַחֲרִימְנָא וּדְאָסַֽרְנָא עַל נַפְשָׁתָֽנָא מִיּוֹם כִּפּוּרִים זֶה עַד יוֹם כִּפּוּרִים הַבָּא עָלֵֽינוּ לְטוֹבָה בְּכֻלְּהוֹן אִחֲרַֽטְנָא בְהוֹן כֻּלְּהוֹן יְהוֹן שָׁרָן שְׁבִיקִין, שְׁבִיתִין, בְּטֵלִין וּמְבֻטָּלִין לָא שְׁרִירִין וְלָא קַיָּמִין נִדְרָֽנָא לָא נִדְרֵי וֶאֱסָרָֽנָא לָא אֱסָרֵי וּשְׁבוּעָתָֽנָא לָא שְׁבוּעוֹת

English Translation of Kol Nidre (All Vows):

All vows, and prohibitions, and oaths, and consecrations, and bans, and terms, and obligations that we vow, and swear, and devote, and prohibit upon ourselves, from this Yom Kippur until the next Yom Kippur, may it come upon us for good, regarding all of them, we regret them. Let all of them be annulled, canceled, voided, and nullified. Let them not be valid or binding. Our vows are not vows; our prohibitions are not prohibitions; our oaths are not oaths.

What the words are doing

Kol Nidre opens with a long list: vows, prohibitions, oaths, consecrations, bans, terms, and obligations. That piling up of words is not poetry for its own sake. It is legal language, trying to cover the many ways a person might bind himself with his mouth.

Some of these terms sound strange in English because they come from the world of Jewish vow language. A person could dedicate something, forbid something to himself, or use substitute wording to make a vow. The prayer gathers all of it together and says, in effect, “Lord, do not let our careless speech become a trap before You.”

The key line is “regarding all of them, we regret them.” Kol Nidre is not a game. It is not a way to make promises lightly and then erase them later. Regret is the moral center of the prayer. The worshiper is saying that he knows the mouth can run ahead of the heart, and he wants to stand before God without pretending.

What Kol Nidre does not cancel

This matters. Kol Nidre concerns vows a person places upon himself before God. It does not cancel promises made to another person. It does not cancel debts, contracts, court testimony, marriage vows, business obligations, or the need to repair damage you caused.

The Mishnah says this plainly about Yom Kippur: “For transgressions between a person and God, Yom Kippur atones; but for transgressions between a person and his fellow, Yom Kippur does not atone until he appeases his fellow” (Mishnah Yoma 8:9). That fits exactly with Yeshua’s teaching in Matthew 5:23-24, where he tells a worshiper to leave the gift at the altar and first be reconciled to his brother.

So if you lied to someone, cheated someone, wounded someone, or broke your word to someone, Kol Nidre is not the end of the matter. It may be the beginning of honesty. But the next step is repentance with your feet, your phone, your wallet, and your words. We talk more about this in The One Sin Yom Kippur Won’t Forgive.

The first-century connection

Kol Nidre itself is later than the New Testament. We have no evidence that Rabbi Yeshua or the apostles heard this prayer in the synagogue. But the issue Kol Nidre addresses was very much alive in their world.

The Torah treats vows seriously. Numbers 30:2 says that when a man makes a vow to the Lord, “he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” Deuteronomy 23:21-23 warns Israel not to delay fulfilling a vow. Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 says it is better not to vow than to vow and not pay.

By the generations around the apostles, Jewish teachers were discussing vows in detail. Those discussions were later gathered in the Mishnah tractate Nedarim. That is the world behind several New Testament passages.

In Mark 7:11-13, Yeshua rebukes people who used the word “Corban,” meaning something dedicated to God, to avoid caring for their father or mother. In Matthew 23:16-22, he exposes the clever games people played with oaths, swearing by the temple, the gold of the temple, the altar, or the gift on the altar. He was not impressed.

Then in Matthew 5:33-37, Rabbi Yeshua cuts through the whole system: “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’” James repeats the same teaching in James 5:12. The point is not that every vow is evil. Paul seems to have taken a vow in Acts 18:18, and Acts 21:23-26 describes vow practices among believers in Jerusalem. The point is that a disciple’s mouth should become trustworthy.

That is why Kol Nidre can still teach us. Not because the apostles prayed it, but because the Bible never treats speech as a small thing.

How believers can pray Kol Nidre today

A believer in Yeshua does not need to become Jewish to learn from this prayer. Kol Nidre can help us recover a biblical fear of careless words, especially as Yom Kippur calls Israel, and anyone who will listen, to repentance before God.

You can read it at home on the evening Yom Kippur begins. Read the English first, slowly. Then, if you are able, read the transliteration aloud. Do not rush the list of vows and oaths. Let it remind you of the promises you made when you were afraid, excited, ashamed, or trying to bargain with God.

Then ask two honest questions. First, what vows have I made to God that I should keep? Psalm 15:4 praises the person who “swears to his own hurt and does not change.” Some promises are costly, but holy.

Second, what did I say rashly that I now regret? Bring that before the Lord without excuses. Ask Him to make your speech smaller, cleaner, and more faithful in the year ahead.

Families can pray this together in a simple way. Light no drama around it. Sit at the table, read the English translation, and ask older children, “When is a promise wise, and when is it foolish?” That question will open more teaching than a lecture.

Many families also pray Avinu Malkeinu on Yom Kippur, turning from our failed words to God’s mercy as Father and King. For a wider look at the day, see our teachings on Yom Kippur.

A good verse to carry into the fast is Psalm 141:3: “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.” Before the new year fills up with promises, ask the Lord to stand guard at that door.

Questions people ask

What is the Kol Nidre prayer?

Kol Nidre, meaning “all vows,” is an Aramaic declaration chanted at the beginning of the Yom Kippur evening service. It asks that rash personal vows made toward God be annulled. It does not cancel obligations or promises made to other people.

What does Kol Nidre mean in English?

Kol Nidre lists vows, oaths, prohibitions, and self-imposed obligations, then says, “regarding all of them, we regret them.” The prayer asks that such vows be annulled and not remain binding. The full English translation is included on this page.

Is Kol Nidre in Hebrew or Aramaic?

Kol Nidre is mainly in Aramaic, though it includes some Hebrew wording. Aramaic was widely used among Jewish communities in late antiquity. The page above gives the Aramaic text, transliteration, and English translation.

How do you pronounce Kol Nidre?

Kol Nidre is commonly pronounced “kol nee-DRAY.” The spelling Kol Nidrei is another way of writing the same phrase. Use the transliteration above to read the whole prayer aloud line by line.

Can I print the Kol Nidre text in English and transliteration?

Yes. The full Kol Nidre text in Aramaic, transliteration, and English is included on this page, so you can print it directly from your browser. Many families place the text on the table when Yom Kippur begins.