Numbers 5
Common English Bible
Instructions about purity in the camp
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 Command the Israelites to send out from the camp anyone with a skin disease, an oozing discharge, or who has become unclean from contact with a corpse. 3 You must send out both male and female. You must send them outside the camp so that they will not make their camp, where I live among them, unclean.
4 The Israelites did so and sent them outside the camp. The Israelites did just what the Lord said to Moses.
5 The Lord spoke to Moses: 6 Tell the Israelites: When a man or a woman commits any sin against anyone else, thus breaking faith with the Lord, that person becomes guilty. 7 Such persons will confess the sin they have done. Each will make payment for his guilt, add one-fifth more, and give it to the injured party. 8 If the person has no close relative to whom the payment can be made, then the compensation payment will go to the Lord for the priest. This is in addition to the ram of reconciliation by which the guilty party himself is reconciled. 9 Any gift offering from all the sacred donations that the Israelites offer will be the property of the priest. 10 The sacred donations belong to each person alone; whatever anyone gives to the priest will be his.
A woman accused of adultery
11 The Lord spoke to Moses: 12 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: A man may suspect that his wife has had an affair[a] and has broken faith with him, 13 that a man has had intercourse with her unknown to her husband and that she has defiled herself in secret—even though there are no witnesses and she isn’t caught. 14 If jealousy overcomes him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if jealousy overcomes him and he is jealous of his wife who hasn’t defiled herself, 15 then the man will bring his wife to the priest. He will bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah[b] of barley flour. He will not pour oil on it, nor offer frankincense with it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a grain offering for recognition in order to recognize guilt. 16 The priest will bring her close and make her stand before the Lord. 17 The priest will take holy water in a clay jar, and taking dust from the floor of the dwelling, the priest will place it in the water. 18 The priest will make the woman stand before the Lord, let the hair of the woman hang down, and place the grain offering for recognition, that is, the grain offering for jealousy, in her hands. The water of bitterness that brings the curse will be in the hands of the priest.
19 Then the priest will make her swear a solemn pledge, saying to the woman, “If no man has slept with you and if you haven’t had an affair, becoming defiled while married to your husband, then be immune from the water of bitterness that brings these curses. 20 But if you have had an affair while married to your husband, if you have defiled yourself, and a man other than your husband has had intercourse with you”— 21 then the priest must make the woman utter the curse and say to the woman, “May the Lord make you a curse and a harmful pledge among your people, when the Lord induces a miscarriage and your womb discharges. 22 And may the water that brings these curses enter your stomach and make your womb discharge and make you miscarry.”
And the woman will say, “I agree, I agree.”
23 The priest will write these curses in the scroll and wipe them off into the water of bitterness. 24 Then he will make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse. And the water that brings the curse will enter her, causing bitterness. 25 The priest will take the grain offering for jealousy from the woman’s hands, elevate the grain offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar. 26 The priest will take a handful of the grain offering as a token part of it and turn it into smoke on the altar. And afterward he will make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, then the water that brings the curse will enter her, causing bitterness, and her womb will discharge and she will miscarry. The woman will be a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman hasn’t defiled herself and she is pure, then she will be immune and able to conceive.
29 These are the instructions about jealousy, when a wife has an affair while married to her husband and defiles herself, 30 or when jealousy overcomes a man and he is jealous of his wife. The priest will make the woman stand before the Lord and will follow all these instructions concerning her. 31 The man will be free from guilt, but the woman will bear her guilt.
Footnotes
- Numbers 5:12 Or goes astray; see also 5:19-20, 29.
- Numbers 5:15 Two quarts; one ephah is approximately twenty quarts dry.
Numbers 5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5
The Unclean Expelled. 1 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Order the Israelites to expel from camp everyone with a scaly infection, and everyone suffering from a discharge, and everyone who has become unclean by contact with a corpse.[a](A) 3 Male and female alike, you shall expel them. You shall expel them from the camp so that they do not defile their camp, where I dwell in their midst.(B) 4 This the Israelites did, expelling them from the camp; just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did.
Unjust Possession.[b] 5 The Lord said to Moses: 6 (C)Tell the Israelites: If a man or a woman commits any offense against another person, thus breaking faith with the Lord, and thereby becomes guilty, 7 that person shall confess the wrong that has been done, make restitution in full, and in addition give one fifth of its value to the one that has been wronged. 8 However, if there is no next of kin,[c] one to whom restitution can be made, the restitution shall be made to the Lord and shall fall to the priest; this is apart from the ram of atonement with which the priest makes atonement for the guilty individual. 9 Likewise, every contribution among the sacred offerings that the Israelites present to the priest will belong to him.(D) 10 Each shall possess his own sacred offerings; what is given to a priest shall be his.(E)
Ordeal for Suspected Adultery. 11 The Lord said to Moses: 12 Speak to the Israelites and tell them: If a man’s wife goes astray and becomes unfaithful to him 13 by virtue of a man having intercourse with her(F) in secret from her husband and she is able to conceal the fact that she has defiled herself for lack of a witness who might have caught her in the act; 14 or if a man is overcome by a feeling of jealousy that makes him suspect his wife, and she has defiled herself; or if a man is overcome by a feeling of jealousy that makes him suspect his wife and she has not defiled herself— 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest as well as an offering on her behalf, a tenth of an ephah[d] of barley meal. However, he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense over it, since it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance which recalls wrongdoing.
16 The priest shall first have the woman come forward and stand before the Lord. 17 In an earthen vessel he shall take holy water,[e] as well as some dust from the floor of the tabernacle and put it in the water.(G) 18 Making the woman stand before the Lord, the priest shall uncover her head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, that is, the grain offering of jealousy, while he himself shall hold the water of bitterness that brings a curse. 19 Then the priest shall adjure the woman, saying to her, “If no other man has had intercourse with you, and you have not gone astray by defiling yourself while under the authority of your husband, be immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse. 20 But if you have gone astray while under the authority of your husband, and if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has had intercourse with you”— 21 so shall the priest adjure the woman with this imprecation—“may the Lord make you a curse and malediction[f] among your people by causing your uterus to fall and your belly to swell! 22 May this water, then, that brings a curse, enter your bowels to make your belly swell and your uterus fall!”(H) And the woman shall say, “Amen, amen!”[g] 23 The priest shall put these curses in writing and shall then wash them off into the water of bitterness, 24 and he will have the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse, so that the water that brings a curse may enter into her to her bitter hurt. 25 But first the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and having elevated the grain offering before the Lord, shall bring it to the altar, 26 where he shall take a handful of the grain offering as a token offering and burn it on the altar.(I) Only then shall he have the woman drink the water. 27 Once he has had her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings a curse will enter into her to her bitter hurt, and her belly will swell and her uterus will fall, so that she will become a curse among her people. 28 If, however, the woman has not defiled herself, but is still pure, she will be immune and will still be fertile.
29 This, then, is the ritual for jealousy when a woman goes astray while under the authority of her husband and defiles herself, 30 or when such a feeling of jealousy comes over a man that he becomes suspicious of his wife; he shall have her stand before the Lord, and the priest shall perform this entire ritual for her. 31 The man shall be free from punishment,[h] but the woman shall bear her punishment.
Footnotes
- 5:2 For the laws regarding victims of skin disease, see Lv 13–14; those suffering from a discharge, Lv 15; those unclean by contact with a corpse, Nm 19:11–22; Lv 21:1–4.
- 5:5–10 The basic law on unjust possession is given in Lv 5:14–26. The new item here concerns the case where the injured party has died and left no heirs, in which case the restitution must be made to the priest.
- 5:8 Next of kin: Hebrew go’el (“redeemer”), a technical term denoting the nearest relative, upon whom devolved the obligation of “redeeming” the family property, in order to keep it within the family. Cf. Lv 25:25; Ru 4:1–6.
- 5:15 Ephah: see note on Is 5:10.
- 5:17 Holy water: water from the basin that stood in the court of the tabernacle.
- 5:21 Curse and malediction: the woman’s name would be used in curses and oaths to invoke a similar misfortune on another person or on oneself. Cf. Is 65:15; Jer 29:22.
- 5:22 Amen: a Hebrew word meaning “certainly, truly,” used to give assent to a statement, a curse, a blessing, a prayer, or the like, in the sense of “so be it.”
- 5:31 Free from punishment: the point is that a husband will not suffer a harmful consequence if his accusation is not borne out by the ordeal; if he’s right, his wife’s punishment vindicates him. For her part, the woman (if guilty) must bear her punishment.
Numbers 5
King James Version
5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:
3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.
4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the Lord spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.
5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty;
7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.
8 But if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the Lord, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.
9 And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his.
10 And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.
11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
13 And 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;
14 And 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:
15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, 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 earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:
18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:
19 And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:
21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The Lord make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the Lord doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;
22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.
23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:
24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.
25 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the Lord, and offer it upon the altar:
26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.
27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.
Numbers 5
New King James Version
Ceremonially Unclean Persons Isolated(A)
5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every (B)leper, everyone who has a (C)discharge, and whoever becomes (D)defiled [a]by a corpse. 3 You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps (E)in the midst of which I dwell.” 4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.
Confession and Restitution(F)
5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the children of Israel: (G)‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the Lord, and that person is guilty, 7 (H)then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass (I)in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. 8 But if the man has no [b]relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to (J)the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 Every (K)offering[c] of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be (L)his. 10 And every man’s [d]holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be (M)his.’ ”
Concerning Unfaithful Wives
11 And 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 behaves unfaithfully toward him, 13 and a man (N)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 (O)caught— 14 if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes (P)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— 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall (Q)bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for (R)bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16 ‘And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the Lord. 17 The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 Then the priest shall stand the woman before the (S)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 (T)put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—(U)“the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh [e]rot and your belly swell; 22 and may this water that causes the curse (V)go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.”
‘(W)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 (X)Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall (Y)wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar; 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, (Z)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 (AA)curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman (AB)will become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.
29 ‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, (AC)goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. 31 Then the man shall be free from [f]iniquity, but that woman (AD)shall bear her [g]guilt.’ ”
Footnotes
- Numbers 5:2 by contact with
- Numbers 5:8 redeemer, Heb. goel
- Numbers 5:9 heave offering
- Numbers 5:10 consecrated
- Numbers 5:21 Lit. fall away
- Numbers 5:31 guilt
- Numbers 5:31 iniquity
民数记 5
Revised Chinese Union Version (Simplified Script) Shen Edition
不洁净的人
5 耶和华吩咐摩西说： 2 “你要吩咐以色列人，把一切患麻风[a]的、患漏症的和因尸体而不洁净的，都送到营外去。 3 无论男女你都要送，把他们送到营外去，免得他们玷污了他们的营，这是我住在他们中间的地方。” 4 以色列人就照样做，把他们送到营外去。耶和华怎样吩咐摩西，以色列人就照样做了。
认罪和赔偿
5 耶和华吩咐摩西说： 6 “你要吩咐以色列人：无论男女，若犯了人所常犯的任何罪[b]，以致干犯耶和华，那人就有了罪。 7 他要承认所犯的罪，将所亏负人的如数赔偿，另外再加五分之一，交给所亏负的人。 8 那人若没有至亲可接受所赔偿的，所赔偿的就要归耶和华，交给祭司；另外还要献一只赎罪的公羊为他赎罪。 9 以色列人一切的圣物中，所奉给祭司的一切礼物都要归给祭司。 10 各人自己的圣物归自己，给祭司的要归给祭司。”
疑妻不贞的案件
11 耶和华吩咐摩西说： 12 “你要吩咐以色列人，对他们说：若任何人的妻子背离妇道，对丈夫不贞， 13 有人与她同寝交合，这事瞒过她的丈夫，没有被发现；她玷污自己，没有证人指控她，也没有被捉住； 14 丈夫若生了疑忌的心，对妻子起了疑忌，认为她玷污自己；或是丈夫生了疑忌的心，对妻子起了疑忌，虽然她没有玷污自己， 15 这人要带妻子到祭司那里，同时为她带十分之一伊法大麦面粉作供物。不可浇上油，也不可加乳香，因为这是疑忌的素祭，是纪念的素祭，使人记得罪孽。
16 “祭司要使那妇人近前来，站在耶和华面前。 17 祭司要把圣水盛在瓦器里，从帐幕的地上取些尘土，放在水中。 18 祭司要带那妇人站在耶和华面前，使她蓬头散发，再把纪念的素祭，就是疑忌的素祭，放在她的手掌，祭司手里捧着致诅咒的苦水。 19 祭司要叫妇人起誓，对她说：‘若没有人与你同寝，若你未曾背着丈夫做污秽的事，你就能免去这致诅咒的苦水。 20 但你背着丈夫，玷污自己，跟丈夫以外的人同寝。’ 21 祭司叫妇人赌咒起誓，祭司对她说：‘当耶和华使你大腿萎缩，肚腹肿胀时，愿耶和华使你在你百姓中成为诅咒和咒骂； 22 愿这致诅咒的水进入你体内，使你肚腹肿胀，大腿萎缩。’妇人要说：‘阿们，阿们。’
23 “祭司要把这诅咒写在册上，然后用苦水涂去， 24 又叫妇人喝这致诅咒的苦水，这诅咒的水要进入她里面，令她痛苦。 25 祭司要从妇人手中取那疑忌的素祭，把素祭在耶和华面前摇一摇，拿到祭坛前； 26 又要从素祭中取出一把，作为纪念，烧在坛上，然后叫妇人喝这水。 27 祭司叫她喝了以后，她若玷污自己，确实对丈夫不贞，这致诅咒的水必进入她里面，令她痛苦，她的肚腹就要肿胀起来，大腿萎缩；这妇人就在她百姓中成为诅咒。 28 这妇人若没有玷污自己，是贞洁的，就要免受这灾，并且能够生育。
29 “这是疑忌的条例。妻子背离丈夫玷污自己， 30 或是丈夫生了疑忌的心，对妻子起了疑忌，祭司要使那妇人站在耶和华面前，在她身上照这条例而行。 31 男人可免罪责；女人必须担当自己的罪孽。”
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
和合本修訂版經文 © 2006, 2010, 2017 香港聖經公會。蒙允許使用。 Scripture Text of Revised Chinese Union Version © 2006, 2010, 2017 Hong Kong Bible Society. www.hkbs.org.hk/en/ Used by permission.