Numbers 5
Christian Standard Bible
Isolation of the Unclean
5 The Lord instructed Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away anyone from the camp who is afflicted with a skin disease,(A) anyone who has a discharge,(B) or anyone who is defiled because of a corpse.(C) 3 Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.” 4 The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the Lord instructed Moses.
Compensation for Wrongdoing
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 “Tell the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, that person acts unfaithfully toward the Lord(D) and is guilty.(E) 7 The person is to confess(F) the sin he has committed. He is to pay full compensation, add a fifth of its value to it, and give it to the individual he has wronged.(G) 8 But if that individual has no relative(H) to receive compensation, the compensation goes to the Lord for the priest, along with the atonement ram by which the priest will make atonement for the guilty person.(I) 9 Every holy contribution the Israelites present to the priest will be his.(J) 10 Each one’s holy contribution is his to give; what each one gives to the priest will be his.”
The Jealousy Ritual
11 The Lord spoke to Moses: 12 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: If any man’s wife goes astray, is unfaithful to him, 13 and sleeps with another,[a] but it is concealed from her husband, and she is undetected, even though she has defiled herself, since there is no witness against her, and she wasn’t caught in the act; 14 and if a feeling of jealousy(K) comes over the husband and he becomes jealous because of his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he becomes jealous of her though she has not defiled herself— 15 then the man is to bring his wife to the priest. He is also to bring an offering for her of two quarts[b] of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering for remembrance to draw attention to guilt.
16 “The priest is to bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord. 17 Then the priest is to take holy water in a clay bowl, take some of the dust from the tabernacle floor, and put it in the water. 18 After the priest has the woman stand before the Lord, he is to let down her hair[c] and place in her hands the grain offering for remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse. 19 The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse. 20 But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has slept with you’— 21 at this point the priest will make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her—‘May the Lord make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when he makes your womb[d] shrivel and your belly swell. 22 May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your womb to shrivel.’
“And the woman will reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’
23 “Then the priest is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water. 24 He will require the woman to drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her to cause bitter suffering. 25 The priest is to take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman, present the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. 26 The priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion(L) and burn it on the altar. Afterward, he will require the woman to drink the water.
27 “When he makes her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter her to cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, and her womb will shrivel. She will become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she will be unaffected and will be able to conceive children.
29 “This is the law regarding jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, 30 or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he becomes jealous of his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest will carry out all these instructions for her. 31 The husband will be free of guilt, but that woman will bear her iniquity.”
Numbers 5
Modern English Version
The Unclean
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has a discharge, and whoever is defiled by the dead. 3 Both male and female you will put out. You will put them outside the camp, so they do not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell. 4 The children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp. As the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.
Restitution for Wrongs
5 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 6 Tell the children of Israel: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, acting unfaithfully against the Lord, that person is guilty, 7 and shall confess his sin which he has committed, and he will repay his offense with its principal, and add to it one-fifth, and give it to him who was wronged. 8 But if the man has no relative to repay the offense to, let the offense be repaid to the Lord, even to the priest, beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement will be made for him. 9 Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, will be his. 10 Every man’s holy things will be his. Whatever any man gives the priest, it will be his.
The Test for Adultery
11 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: If any man’s wife goes astray, and acts treacherously against him, 13 and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, nor is she caught in the act, 14 and if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and he shall bring her offering for her, a tenth of an ephah[a] of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16 The priest will bring her near, and set her before the Lord. 17 And the priest will take holy water in an earthen vessel, and the priest will take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 And the priest will set the woman before the Lord, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the memorial offering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy, and the priest will have in his hand the bitter water that causes the curse. 19 And the priest will charge her by an oath, and say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to impurity with another instead of your husband, be free from this bitter water that causes the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray to another instead of your husband, and if you are defiled, and a man besides your husband has lain with you”— 21 then the priest will charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest will say to the woman, “The Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh rot and your belly swell. 22 And this water that causes the curse will go into your bowels, to make your belly swell and your thigh rot.”
And the woman will say, “Amen, amen.”
23 The priest will write these curses in a book, and he will wash them out with the bitter water. 24 And he will cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causes the curse. And the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter. 25 Then the priest will take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand and will wave the offering before the Lord and offer it on the altar. 26 And the priest will take a handful of the offering, the memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward will cause the woman to drink the water. 27 When he has made her to drink the water, then it will be that, if she is defiled and has acted treacherously against her husband, the water that causes the curse will enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly will swell, and her thigh will rot, and the woman will be a curse among her people. 28 If the woman is not defiled, but is clean, then she will be free and will conceive offspring.
29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goes astray to another instead of her husband, and is defiled, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous over his wife, and will set the woman before the Lord, and the priest will perform on her all this law. 31 Then the man will be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman will bear her iniquity.
Footnotes
- Numbers 5:15 Likely about 3½ pounds, or 1.6 kilograms.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.