Numbers 5:11-31
World English Bible
11 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, 13 and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and this is kept concealed, and she is defiled, there is no witness against her, and she isn’t taken in the act; 14 and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife and she is defiled; or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife and she isn’t defiled; 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: one tenth of an ephah[a] of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory. 16 The priest shall bring her near, and set her before Yahweh. 17 The priest shall take holy water in an earthen 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 set the woman before Yahweh, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse. 19 The priest shall cause her to take an oath and shall tell the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you haven’t gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse. 20 But if you have gone astray, being under your husband’s authority, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband—” 21 then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall tell the woman, “May Yahweh make you a curse and an oath among your people, when Yahweh allows your thigh to fall away, and your body to swell; 22 and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.” The woman shall say, “Amen, Amen.”
23 “‘The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall wipe them into the water of bitterness. 24 He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter. 25 The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal offering before Yahweh, and bring it to the altar. 26 The priest shall take a handful of the meal offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse among her people. 28 If the woman isn’t defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive offspring.[b]
29 “‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes on a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before Yahweh, and the priest shall execute on her all this law. 31 The man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.’”
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Numbers 5:11-31
International Standard Version
The Test for Marital Unfaithfulness
11 Then the Lord told Moses, 12 “Instruct the Israelis what to do if a man’s wife turns astray so that she unfaithfully acts against him, 13 a man has sexual relations[a] with her and she conceals it from her husband,[b] keeping it secret although she has defiled herself with there being no witnesses against her, but she was caught anyway. 14 If an attitude of jealousy overcomes him so that he becomes jealous at his wife when she is defiled, or if an attitude of jealousy overcomes him and he becomes jealous of his wife even though she isn’t defiled, 15 then that man is to bring his wife to the priest along with an offering for her consisting of a tenth of an ephah[c] of barley flour. He is not to pour oil or set frankincense over it, because it’s to be a jealousy offering, a memorial offering that will serve as a reminder of iniquity. 16 Then the priest is to bring it and make her stand in the Lord’s presence. 17 The priest is to put some holy water into an earthen vessel, take some dust from the floor of the tent, and put it into the water. 18 The priest is to have the woman stand in the Lord’s presence, uncover her head,[d] and put the grain offering as a memorial, a reminder of jealousy, into her hands. The priest is also to have in his hand the contaminated[e] water that carries a curse.
19 “The priest is to administer this oath to the woman: ‘If indeed another man didn’t have sexual relations[f] with you and you didn’t become unfaithful to your husband,[g] then may you be free from these waters that bring a curse. 20 But if you have become unfaithful to your husband and have become defiled because a man who isn’t your husband has had sexual relations with you…’ 21 then the priest is to have the woman commit to an oath by saying to the woman, ‘May the Lord make you a curse and a curse among your people. When the Lord makes your thigh waste away and your abdomen swell 22 and this water that brings a curse enters your abdomen, making it swell and your thigh waste away.’
“Then the woman is to say ‘Amen.’
23 “Then the priest is to write all of these words in a document and wipe it off with the contaminated water. 24 The woman is to drink the bitter water that brings a curse and the water that brings a curse is to be considered contaminated. 25 The priest is to take the offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, wave the offering in the Lord’s presence, and have her approach the altar. 26 The priest is to take a handful of grain from the memorial and offer a sacrifice on the altar, after which he is to have the woman drink the water. 27 When he has had her drink the water, if she was defiled and had acted unfaithfully toward her husband, then the contaminated water that brings a curse will enter her and infect her, causing her abdomen to swell and her thigh to waste away. Then she is to be a cursed woman among her people. 28 But if the woman isn’t defiled, then she is to be freed and will be able to bear children.[h] 29 This is the law in cases of jealousy when a woman defiles herself while under her husband’s authority: 30 When a man becomes under the control of an attitude[i] of jealousy regarding his wife, he is to present her to the Lord, and the priest is to apply this entire statute to her. 31 The husband[j] will be free from guilt, but the wife is to bear the punishment of her iniquity.”
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- Numbers 5:13 Lit. lies down with her
- Numbers 5:13 Or man
- Numbers 5:15 I.e., an ephah was equal to from 2 /3 to 3 /4 of a bushel
- Numbers 5:18 Lit. head of the woman
- Numbers 5:18 Lit. bitter, and so throughout the chapter
- Numbers 5:19 Or lie with a man
- Numbers 5:19 Or man
- Numbers 5:28 Lit. and sow seed
- Numbers 5:30 Lit. spirit
- Numbers 5:31 Or man
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