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And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Command the Bnei Yisroel, that they put out of the machaneh every tzaru’a, and every one that hath a discharge, and whosoever is tameh lanefesh (unclean, defiled by reason of contact with a corpse),

Both zakhar and nekevah shall ye put out, without the machaneh shall ye put them; that they defile not their machanot, in the midst whereof I dwell.

And the Bnei Yisroel did so, and put them outside the machaneh; just as Hashem spoke unto Moshe, so did the Bnei Yisroel.

And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, When a man or woman shall commit any chattot that men commit, l’me’ol ma’al baHashem (thereby trespassing against Hashem), and feels guilty;

Then they shall make vidduy (confession of sin) of their chattot which they have committed; and shall make reparation in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom they hath incurred liability.

But if the man have no go’el unto whom reparation for the asham can be made, let the asham be recompensed unto Hashem, even to the kohen, besides the ram of the kippurim, whereby a kapparah shall be made on his behalf.

And every terumah of all the holy things of the Bnei Yisroel, which they bring unto the kohen, shall be his.

10 And every man’s things set apart as kodesh shall be his; whatsoever any man giveth the kohen, it shall be his.

11 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

12 Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, and say unto them, If any man’s isha go aside, and commit a trespass [i.e., is unfaithful] against him,

13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her ish, and she become tameh secretly, and there be no ed (witness) against her, neither she be caught;

14 And a ruach kina (spirit of jealousy) come upon him, and he be jealous of his isha, and she be tameh; or if a ruach kina come upon him, and he be jealous of his isha, and she be not tameh;

15 Then shall the ish bring his isha unto the kohen, and he shall bring her korban for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no shemen upon it, nor put incense thereon; for it is a minchat kinot (grain offering of jealousies), a minchat zekaron (grain offering of memorial), bringing avon to remembrance.

16 And the kohen shall bring her near, and set her before Hashem;

17 And the kohen shall take mayim kedoshim in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the Mishkan the kohen shall take, and put it into the mayim;

18 And the kohen shall set the isha before Hashem, and unbind the hair of the isha, and put the minchat zekaron in her hands, which is the minchat kena’ot; and the kohen shall have in his hand the mei hamarim hame’ararim (waters of bitterness that causeth the curse);

19 And the kohen shall put her under oath, and say unto the isha, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not turned astray to tum’a (uncleanness, impurity) with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from these mei hamarim hame’ararim;

20 But if thou hast turned astray to another instead of thy ish, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee other than thine ish;

21 Then the kohen shall put the isha under oath with the oath of the curse, and the kohen shall say unto the isha, Hashem make thee an alah (curse) and a shevu’ah (oath) among thy people, when Hashem doth make thy thigh to waste away, and thy belly to swell;

22 And this mayim that causeth the curse shall go into thy inner parts, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to waste away; And the isha shall say, Omen, Omen.

23 And the kohen shall write these alot (curses) on a sefer, and he shall wash them into the mei hamarim;

24 And he shall cause the isha to drink the mei hamarim hame’ararim; and the mayim hame’ararim shall enter into her, and become bitter.

25 Then the kohen shall take the minchat hakena’ot out of the yad haisha, and shall wave the minchah before Hashem, and offer it upon the Mizbe’ach:

26 And the kohen shall take a handful of the minchah, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the Mizbe’ach, and afterward shall cause the isha to drink the mayim.

27 And when he hath made her to drink the mayim, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass [i.e., been unfaithful] against her ish, that the mayim hame’ararim shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall waste away; and the isha shall become a curse among her people.

28 And if the isha be not defiled, but be tehorah (clean); then she shall be free, and shall conceive zera.

29 This is the torat hakena’ot (law of jealousy), when an isha goeth astray to another instead of her ish, and is defiled;

30 Or when the ruach kinah cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his isha, and shall set the isha before Hashem, and the kohen shall execute upon her all this torah.

31 Then shall the ish be free from guilt from avon, and this isha shall bear her avon.

Unclean People

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel that they (A)put out of the camp everyone who is leprous[a] or has (B)a discharge and everyone who is (C)unclean through contact with the dead. You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, (D)in the midst of which I dwell.” And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, (E)When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, (F)he shall confess his sin that he has committed.[b] (G)And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to (H)the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. And (I)every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10 Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.”

A Test for Adultery

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the people of Israel, If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, 13 if a man (J)lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, (K)since she was not taken in the act, 14 and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over 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 bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah[c] of barley flour. (L)He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, (M)bringing iniquity to remembrance.

16 “And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord. 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and (N)unbind the hair of the woman's head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. 19 Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband's authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, 21 then’ (let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) (O)‘the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell. 22 May this water that brings the curse (P)pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, (Q)‘Amen, Amen.’

23 “Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. 25 And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand (R)and shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar. 26 And the priest (S)shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27 And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman (T)shall become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

29 “This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, (U)though under her husband's authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. 31 The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman (V)shall bear her iniquity.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 5:2 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
  2. Numbers 5:7 Hebrew they shall confess their sin that they have committed
  3. Numbers 5:15 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters