Numbers 5-6

New International Reader's Version

Making the Camp Pure

5 The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ² “Tell the Israelites that certain people must be sent away from the camp. Command them to send away anyone who has a skin disease. They must send away all those who have liquid waste coming from their bodies. And they must send away those who are ‘unclean’ because they have touched a dead body. ³ That applies to men and women alike. Send them out of the camp. They must not make their camp ‘unclean.’ That is where I live among them.” ⁴ So the Israelites did what the Lord commanded. They sent out of the camp those who were “unclean.” They did just as the Lord had directed Moses.

Sins Against Others Must Be Paid For

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, ⁶ “Speak to the Israelites. Say to them, ‘Suppose a man or woman does something wrong to someone else. Then that person is not being faithful to the Lord. People like that are guilty. ⁷ They must admit they have committed a sin. They must pay in full for what they did wrong. And they must add a fifth of the value to it. Then they must give all of it to the person they have sinned against. ⁸ But suppose that person has died. And suppose that person does not have a close relative who can be paid for the sin that was committed. Then what is paid belongs to the Lord. It must be given to the priest. A ram must be given along with it. The ram must be sacrificed to the Lord to pay for the sin. ⁹ All the sacred gifts the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. ¹⁰ Sacred gifts belong to their owners. But what they give to the priest will belong to the priest.’ ”

The Test for an Unfaithful Wife

¹¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses again. He said, ¹² “Speak to the Israelites. Say to them, ‘Suppose a man’s wife goes astray. And suppose she is not faithful to her husband. ¹³ Suppose another man has sex with her. And suppose this is hidden from her husband. No one knows she is not “clean.” So there is no witness against her. And she has not been caught in the act. ¹⁴ Suppose her husband becomes jealous. He does not trust his wife, and she is really “unclean.” Or suppose he does not trust her even though she is “clean.” ¹⁵ Then he must take his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering. It must be eight cups of barley flour. The offering is for his wife. He must not pour olive oil on it. And he must not put incense on it. It is a grain offering for being jealous. It calls attention to the wrong thing a person has done.

¹⁶ “ ‘The priest must have her stand in front of the Lord. ¹⁷ He must pour some holy water into a clay jar. He must get some dust from the floor of the holy tent. And he must put it into the water. ¹⁸ The priest must have the woman stand in front of the Lord. Then he must untie her hair. He must place in her hands the offering that calls attention to the wrong thing a person has done. It is the grain offering for being jealous. The priest must keep the bitter water with him. It is the water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ Then the priest must have the woman give her word. He must say to her, “Suppose no other man has had sex with you. And suppose you haven’t gone astray. You have kept yourself pure while you are married to your husband. Then may the bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. ²⁰ But suppose you have gone astray while you are married to your husband. You have made yourself ‘unclean.’ You have had sex with a man who isn’t your husband.” ²¹ At that point the priest must put the woman under the curse that will come if she breaks her word. He must say, “May the Lord cause you to become a curse among your people. You will become a curse when the Lord makes your body unable to have children. ²² May this water that brings a curse enter your body. May it make your body unable to have children.”

“ ‘Then the woman must say, “Amen. Let it happen.”

²³ “ ‘The priest must write the curses on a scroll. He must wash them off in the bitter water. ²⁴ It is the water he will make the woman drink. It is bitter water that brings a curse. It will enter her body. And it will cause her to suffer bitterly. ²⁵ The priest must take from her hands the grain offering for being jealous. He must lift it up and wave it in front of the Lord. He must bring it to the altar. ²⁶ Then the priest must take a handful of the grain offering. It is the offering that calls attention to the wrong thing a person has done. The priest must burn it on the altar. After that, he must have the woman drink the water. ²⁷ Suppose she has made herself “unclean.” She has not been faithful to her husband. And she has drunk the water that brings a curse. Then it will go into her body. It will cause her to suffer bitterly. It will make her body unable to have children. She will become a curse. ²⁸ Suppose the woman has not made herself “unclean.” But suppose she is “clean.” Then she will be free of guilt. And she will be able to have children.

²⁹ “ ‘This is the law about being jealous. It applies to a woman who has gone astray. She has made herself “unclean” while she is married to her husband. ³⁰ And it applies to a man who becomes jealous. He has doubts about his wife. The priest must have her stand in front of the Lord. He must apply the entire law to her. ³¹ The husband will not be guilty of doing anything wrong. But the woman will be punished for her sin.’ ”

Becoming a Nazirite

6 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Say to the Israelites, ‘Suppose a man or woman wants to make a special promise. They want to set themselves apart to the Lord for a certain period of time. They want to be Nazirites. ³ Then they must not drink any kind of wine. They must not drink vinegar made out of wine of any kind. They must not drink grape juice. They must not eat grapes or raisins. ⁴ As long as they are Nazirites, they must not eat anything grapevines produce. They must not even eat the seeds or skins of grapes.

⁵ “ ‘They must not use razors on their heads. They must not cut their hair during the whole time they have set themselves apart to the Lord. They must be holy until that time is over. They must let the hair on their heads grow long.

⁶ “ ‘And they must not go near a dead body during that whole time. ⁷ But what if their father or mother dies? Or what if their brother or sister dies? Then they must not make themselves “unclean” because of them. The hair on their heads shows they are set apart for God. ⁸ During the whole time they are set apart they are holy to the Lord.

⁹ “ ‘Suppose someone dies suddenly in front of them. That makes the hair they have set apart to the Lord “unclean.” So they must shave their heads on the day they will be made “clean.” That is the seventh day. ¹⁰ Then on the eighth day they must bring two doves. Or they can bring two young pigeons. They must bring them to the priest. He will be at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹¹ The priest must offer one of the birds as a sin offering. And he must offer the other as a burnt offering. The sacrifices will pay for the sin of the Nazirite man or woman. They sinned by being near a dead body. That same day they must make their heads holy again. ¹² They must set themselves apart to the Lord again. They must do it for the same period of time they had agreed to at first. And they must bring a male lamb a year old as a guilt offering. The days before that do not count. That is because they became “unclean” during the time they were set apart.

¹³ “ ‘The time when the Nazirites are set apart will come to an end. Here is the law that applies to them at that time. They must be brought to the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹⁴ There they must present their offerings to the Lord. They must bring a male lamb a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a burnt offering. Then they must bring a female lamb a year old. It must not have any flaws. It is for a sin offering. And they must bring a ram that does not have any flaws. It is for a friendship offering. ¹⁵ They must sacrifice the offerings together with their grain offerings and drink offerings. And they must also bring a basket of bread made with the finest flour. The bread must be made without yeast. The offering must include thick loaves with olive oil mixed in. And it must also include thin loaves brushed with olive oil.

¹⁶ “ ‘The priest must bring all these things to the Lord. He must sacrifice the sin offering and the burnt offering. ¹⁷ He must bring the basket of bread made without yeast. And he must sacrifice the ram. It will be a friendship offering to the Lord. The priest must bring it together with its grain offering and drink offering.

¹⁸ “ ‘Then the Nazirites must shave off the hair that shows they have set themselves apart to the Lord. They must do it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And they must put the hair in the fire that burns the sacrifice of the friendship offering.

¹⁹ “ ‘After the Nazirites have shaved off their hair, the priest must take a boiled shoulder of the ram. He must remove one thick loaf and one thin loaf from the basket. They must be made without yeast. And he must place the shoulder and the bread in the hands of the Nazirites. ²⁰ Then he must lift up the shoulder and bread and wave them in front of the Lord. They are a wave offering. They are holy and belong to the priest. Other parts of the ram belong to the priest as well. They are the breast that was waved and the thigh that was offered. After the offering is waved, the Nazirites may drink wine.

²¹ “ ‘This is the law of the Nazirites. They promise to sacrifice offerings to the Lord. They do it when they set themselves apart. And they should bring anything else they can afford. They must fulfill the promises they have made. They must do so according to the law of the Nazirites.’ ”

How the Priests Bless the People

²² The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²³ “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘Here is how I want you to bless the Israelites. Say to them,

²⁷ “In that way they will put the blessing of my name on the Israelites. And I will bless them.”