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

Isolation of the Unclean

The Lord instructed Moses, ‘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) Send away both male or female; send them outside the camp, so that they will not defile their camps where I dwell among them.’ The Israelites did this, sending them outside the camp. The Israelites did as the Lord instructed Moses.

Compensation for Wrongdoing

The Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Tell the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any sin against another, that person acts unfaithfully towards the Lord(D) and is guilty.(E) 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) 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) 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 litres[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 make 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. Afterwards, 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 make 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.’

Footnotes

  1. 5:13 Lit and man lies with her and has an emission of semen
  2. 5:15 Lit a tenth of an ephah
  3. 5:18 Or to uncover her head
  4. 5:21 Lit thigh, also in vv. 22,27

除淨不潔

耶和華對摩西說: “你要吩咐以色列人,把所有患痲風病的,患漏症的,以及因接觸死人而不潔的,都送出營外; 無論男女,你們都要送出去;你們要把他們送出營外,免得他們玷污自己的營,這營就是我居住的。” 以色列人就這樣行了,把他們送出營外;耶和華怎樣吩咐摩西,以色列人就怎樣行了。

賠償條例

耶和華對摩西說: “你要對以色列人說:無論男女,如果犯了人所犯的任何罪,以致得罪耶和華,那人就有了罪; 他(“他”直譯是“他們”)要承認自己所犯的罪,把虧負人的損失,原數賠償之外,另外加上五分之一,給予他虧負的人。 如果那人沒有近親可以把所虧負的賠償給他,所虧負的,就要還給耶和華,就是歸給祭司,此外還要獻上為他贖罪的代罪公綿羊。 以色列人的一切聖物中,奉給祭司為舉祭的,都要歸給祭司。 10 各人所獻的聖物,要歸給祭司;人無論獻給祭司甚麼,都要歸給祭司。”

疑妻不貞之試驗方法與條例

11 耶和華對摩西說: 12 “你要告訴以色列人說:無論甚麼人,如果他的妻子背離丈夫,對他不忠, 13 有人和她同寢,事情瞞過了丈夫,沒有被查出,沒有見證人指證她,犯罪時也沒有被人捉住; 14 如果她的丈夫生了疑心,疑忌妻子,而妻子實在是被玷污了;又或者丈夫生了疑心,疑忌妻子,而妻子並沒有被玷污, 15 這人就要把妻子帶到祭司那裡,又要為她帶來供物,就是大麥麵一公斤,不可澆上油,也不可加上乳香,因為這是疑忌的素祭,是思念的素祭,使人思念罪孽。

16 “祭司要使那婦人走進來,站在耶和華面前。 17 祭司要把聖水盛在瓦器裡,又從帳幕的地面取些塵土,撒在水中。 18 祭司要使那婦人站在耶和華面前,鬆開她的頭髮,把思念的素祭,就是疑忌的素祭,放在她的手中,祭司的手裡要拿著使人招致咒詛的苦水。 19 祭司要叫那婦人起誓,對她說:‘如果沒有人與你同寢,作妻子時沒有背棄丈夫被人玷污,你就免受這使人招致咒詛的苦水。 20 但是,如果你作妻子時背棄了丈夫,被人玷污了;如果你在你的丈夫以外,曾與別的男人同寢’, 21 這樣,祭司就要叫那婦人發咒起誓,繼續對她說:‘耶和華要使你的大腿消瘦,肚腹腫脹;願耶和華叫你在你的族人中成為咒詛和起誓的話柄; 22 願這招致咒詛的水進入你的腹中,使你的肚腹腫脹,大腿消瘦。’那婦人要說:‘阿們、阿們。’

23 “祭司要把這些咒詛的話寫在卷上,又把所寫的字洗在苦水裡, 24 又要叫那婦人喝這招致咒詛的苦水,這招致咒詛的水要進入她裡面,就引起痛苦。 25 祭司要從這婦人的手中取過那疑忌的素祭,把素祭在耶和華面前搖一搖,然後帶到祭壇那裡。 26 祭司要從素祭中取出一把來,作為記念,放在祭壇上焚燒,然後才叫婦人喝這水。 27 祭司叫她喝了這水以後,如果她被人玷污,對自己的丈夫不忠,這招致咒詛的水就必進入她裡面,引起痛苦;她的肚腹必腫脹,大腿必消瘦;那婦人就要在她的族人中成為咒詛。 28 但是,如果這婦人沒有被玷污,而是貞潔的,就不致受害,並且要懷孕生子。

29 “這是關於疑忌的律例:妻子在自己丈夫的權下,如果背離丈夫,被人玷污了; 30 或是人生了疑忌的心,疑忌自己的妻子,他就要叫那婦人站在耶和華的面前,祭司要對她執行這法例。 31 這樣,男人可以免罪,婦人就要擔當自己的罪孽。”