Numbers 5:11-31
New Living Translation
Protecting Marital Faithfulness
11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.
“Suppose a man’s wife goes astray, and she is unfaithful to her husband 13 and has sex with another man, but neither her husband nor anyone else knows about it. She has defiled herself, even though there was no witness and she was not caught in the act. 14 If her husband becomes jealous and is suspicious of his wife and needs to know whether or not she has defiled herself, 15 the husband must bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering of two quarts[a] of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do not mix it with olive oil or frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering—an offering to prove whether or not she is guilty.
16 “The priest will then present her to stand trial before the Lord. 17 He must take some holy water in a clay jar and pour into it dust he has taken from the Tabernacle floor. 18 When the priest has presented the woman before the Lord, he must unbind her hair and place in her hands the offering of proof—the jealousy offering to determine whether her husband’s suspicions are justified. The priest will stand before her, holding the jar of bitter water that brings a curse to those who are guilty. 19 The priest will then put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has had sex with you, and you have not gone astray and defiled yourself while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune from the effects of this bitter water that brings on the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray by being unfaithful to your husband, and have defiled yourself by having sex with another man—’
21 “At this point the priest must put the woman under oath by saying, ‘May the people know that the Lord’s curse is upon you when he makes you infertile, causing your womb to shrivel[b] and your abdomen to swell. 22 Now may this water that brings the curse enter your body and cause your abdomen to swell and your womb to shrivel.[c]’ And the woman will be required to say, ‘Yes, let it be so.’ 23 And the priest will write these curses on a piece of leather and wash them off into the bitter water. 24 He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings on the curse. When the water enters her body, it will cause bitter suffering if she is guilty.
25 “The priest will take the jealousy offering from the woman’s hand, lift it up before the Lord, and carry it to the altar. 26 He will take a handful of the flour as a token portion and burn it on the altar, and he will require the woman to drink the water. 27 If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings on the curse will cause bitter suffering. Her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrink,[d] and her name will become a curse among her people. 28 But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children.
29 “This is the ritual law for dealing with suspicion. If a woman goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, 30 or if a man becomes jealous and is suspicious that his wife has been unfaithful, the husband must present his wife before the Lord, and the priest will apply this entire ritual law to her. 31 The husband will be innocent of any guilt in this matter, but his wife will be held accountable for her sin.”
Read full chapter
Numbers 5:11-31
Legacy Standard Bible
The Statutes of Jealousy
11 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife (A)goes astray and is unfaithful to him, 13 and a man lies (B)sexually with her, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is [a]undetected; but she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, and she has not been caught in the act, 14 [b]if a spirit of (C)jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife and she has defiled herself, or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife but she has not defiled herself, 15 the man shall then bring his wife to the priest and shall bring as [c]an offering for her one-tenth of an [d]ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, (D)a reminder of iniquity.
16 ‘Then the priest shall bring her near and have her stand before Yahweh, 17 and the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel; and the priest shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 The priest shall then have the woman stand before Yahweh and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and he shall place the grain offering of remembrance [e]in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy; and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings curses. 19 Then the priest shall have her swear an oath and shall say to the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you have not (E)gone astray into [f]defilement, being under the authority of your husband, be free from this water of bitterness that brings curses; 20 if you, however, have (F)gone astray, being under the authority of your husband, and if you have defiled yourself, and a man other than your husband has lain with you” 21 (then the priest shall have the woman (G)swear with the oath of the curse, and the priest shall say to the woman), “Yahweh make you a curse and an oath among your people by Yahweh making your thigh fall away and your abdomen swell; 22 and this water that brings curses shall go into your [g]stomach and make your abdomen swell and your thigh fall away.” And the woman (H)shall say, “Amen. Amen.”
23 ‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll, and he shall [h]wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 Then he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings curses, so that the water which brings a curse will go into her to cause bitterness. 25 And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before Yahweh and bring it near to the altar; 26 and (I)the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial offering and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water. 27 So he will have her drink the water, and it will be that, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings curses will go into her to cause bitterness, and her abdomen will swell and her thigh will fall away, and the woman will become (J)a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will then be free and conceive a seed.
29 ‘This is the law of jealousy: when a wife, being under the authority of her husband, (K)goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when a spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife, he shall then make the woman stand before Yahweh, and the priest shall apply all this law to her. 31 Moreover, the man will be free from [i]guilt, but that woman shall (L)bear her [j]guilt.’”
Read full chapterNotas al pie
- Numbers 5:13 Lit concealed
- Numbers 5:14 Lit and
- Numbers 5:15 Lit her
- Numbers 5:15 An ephah was approx. 21 qt. or 23 l
- Numbers 5:18 Lit on her palms
- Numbers 5:19 Or uncleanness
- Numbers 5:22 Or inward parts
- Numbers 5:23 Lit wipe
- Numbers 5:31 Or iniquity
- Numbers 5:31 Or iniquity
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.