Numbers 5:12-14

King James Version

¹²Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,

¹³And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;

¹⁴And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

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Numbers 5:12-14

New King James Version

¹²“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, ¹³and a man ^(A)lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she ^(B)caught— ¹⁴if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes ^(C)jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself—

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Numbers 5:12-14

New English Translation

¹²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, ¹³and a man goes to bed with her for sexual relations^[a] without her husband knowing it,^[b] and it is undetected that she has defiled herself since^[c] there was no witness against her, nor was she caught in the act— ¹⁴and if jealous feelings^[d] come over him and he becomes suspicious of^[e] his wife when she is defiled,^[f] or if jealous feelings come over him and he becomes suspicious of his wife, when she is not defiled—

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Footnotes

Numbers 5:13 tn Heb “And a man when he lies with her, the lying of seed.” The verb שָׁכַב (shakhav) “to lie down” acts as a euphemism, implying going to bed for sexual relations. In this case, the phrase “lying for (a man’s) seed” specifies that it refers to sexual intercourse.
Numbers 5:13 tn Heb “and it is concealed from the eyes of her husband.”
Numbers 5:13 tn The noun clause beginning with the simple conjunction is here a circumstantial clause, explaining that there was no witness to the sin.
Numbers 5:14 tn The Hebrew text has the construct case, “spirit of jealousy.” The word “spirit” here has the sense of attitude, mood, feelings. The word קִנְאָה (qinʾah) is the genitive of attribute, modifying what kind of feelings they are. The word means either “zeal” or “jealousy,” depending on the context. It is a passionate feeling to guard or protect an institution or relationship. It can also express strong emotional possessiveness such as envy and coveting. Here there is a feeling of jealousy, but no proof of infidelity.
Numbers 5:14 tn The word is now used in the Piel stem; the connotation is certainly “suspicious,” for his jealousy seems now to have some basis, even if it is merely suspicion.
Numbers 5:14 tn The noun clause begins with the conjunction and the pronoun; here it is forming a circumstantial clause, either temporal or causal.

Numbers 5:12-14

English Standard Version

¹²“Speak to the people of Israel, If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, ¹³if a man ^(A)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, ^(B)since she was not taken in the act, ¹⁴and 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,

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