18 Then the priest shall stand the woman before the (A)Lord, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. 19 And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband’s authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. 20 But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you”— 21 then the priest shall (B)put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—(C)“the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh [a]rot and your belly swell; 22 and may this water that causes the curse (D)go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.”

(E)Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”

23 ‘Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter. 25 (F)Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall (G)wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar; 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, (H)as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a (I)curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman (J)will become a curse among her people.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 5:21 Lit. fall away

18 After the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall loosen her hair(A) and place in her hands the reminder-offering, the grain offering for jealousy,(B) while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse.(C) 19 Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other man has had sexual relations with you and you have not gone astray(D) and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse(E) not harm you. 20 But if you have gone astray(F) while married to your husband and you have made yourself impure by having sexual relations with a man other than your husband”— 21 here the priest is to put the woman under this curse(G)—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse[a] among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. 22 May this water(H) that brings a curse(I) enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.”

“‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.(J)

23 “‘The priest is to write these curses on a scroll(K) and then wash them off into the bitter water. 24 He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering will enter her. 25 The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lord(L) and bring it to the altar. 26 The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial[b] offering(M) and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water. 27 If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 5:21 That is, may he cause your name to be used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, may others see that you are cursed; similarly in verse 27.
  2. Numbers 5:26 Or representative