Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Numbers » Chapter 5

Numbers 5:1-31 King James Version (KJV)

1 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 5:1-31 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

1 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559

2 Command H6680 the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 that they put out H7971 of the camp H4264 every leper, H6879 and every one that hath an issue, H2100 and whosoever is defiled H2931 by the dead: H5315

3 Both male H2145 and female H5347 shall ye put out, H7971 without H2351 the camp H4264 shall ye put H7971 them; that they defile H2930 not their camps, H4264 in the midst H8432 whereof H834 I dwell. H7931

4 And the children H1121 of Israel H3478 did so, H6213 and put them out H7971 without H2351 the camp: H4264 as the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 so did H6213 the children H1121 of Israel. H3478

5 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559

6 Speak H1696 unto the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 When a man H376 or woman H802 shall commit H6213 any sin H2403 that men H120 commit, H4603 to do a trespass H4604 against the LORD, H3068 and that person H5315 be guilty; H816

7 Then they shall confess H3034 their sin H2403 which they have done: H6213 and he shall recompense H7725 his trespass H817 with the principal H7218 thereof, and add H3254 unto it the fifth H2549 part thereof, and give H5414 it unto him against whom he hath trespassed. H816

8 But if the man H376 have no kinsman H1350 to recompense H7725 the trespass H817 unto, let the trespass H817 be recompensed H7725 unto the LORD, H3068 even to the priest; H3548 beside the ram H352 of the atonement, H3725 whereby an atonement shall be made H3722 for him.

9 And every offering H8641 of all the holy things H6944 of the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 which they bring H7126 unto the priest, H3548 shall be his.

10 And every man's H376 hallowed things H6944 shall be his: whatsoever any man H376 giveth H5414 the priest, H3548 it shall be his.

11 And the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto Moses, H4872 saying, H559

12 Speak H1696 unto the children H1121 of Israel, H3478 and say H559 unto them, If any H376 man's H376 wife H802 go aside, H7847 and commit H4603 a trespass H4604 against him,

13 And a man H376 lie H7901 with her carnally, H7902 H2233 and it be hid H5956 from the eyes H5869 of her husband, H376 and be kept close, H5641 and she be defiled, H2930 and there be no witness H5707 against her, neither she be taken H8610 with the manner;

14 And the spirit H7307 of jealousy H7068 come H5674 upon him, and he be jealous H7065 of his wife, H802 and she be defiled: H2930 or if the spirit H7307 of jealousy H7068 come H5674 upon him, and he be jealous H7065 of his wife, H802 and she be not defiled: H2930

15 Then shall the man H376 bring H935 his wife H802 unto the priest, H3548 and he shall bring H935 her offering H7133 for her, the tenth H6224 part of an ephah H374 of barley H8184 meal; H7058 he shall pour H3332 no oil H8081 upon it, nor put H5414 frankincense H3828 thereon; for it is an offering H4503 of jealousy, H7068 an offering H4503 of memorial, H2146 bringing H2142 iniquity H5771 to remembrance. H2142

16 And the priest H3548 shall bring her near, H7126 and set H5975 her before H6440 the LORD: H3068

17 And the priest H3548 shall take H3947 holy H6918 water H4325 in an earthen H2789 vessel; H3627 and of the dust H6083 that is in the floor H7172 of the tabernacle H4908 the priest H3548 shall take, H3947 and put H5414 it into the water: H4325

18 And the priest H3548 shall set H5975 the woman H802 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 and uncover H6544 the woman's H802 head, H7218 and put H5414 the offering H4503 of memorial H2146 in her hands, H3709 which is the jealousy H7068 offering: H4503 and the priest H3548 shall have in his hand H3027 the bitter H4751 water H4325 that causeth the curse: H779

19 And the priest H3548 shall charge her by an oath, H7650 and say H559 unto the woman, H802 If no man H376 have lain H7901 with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside H7847 to uncleanness H2932 with another instead of thy husband, H376 be thou free H5352 from this bitter H4751 water H4325 that causeth the curse: H779

20 But if thou hast gone aside H7847 to another instead of thy husband, H376 and if thou be defiled, H2930 and some man H376 have H5414 lain H7903 with thee beside H1107 thine husband: H376

21 Then the priest H3548 shall charge H7650 the woman H802 with an oath H7621 of cursing, H423 and the priest H3548 shall say H559 unto the woman, H802 The LORD H3068 make H5414 thee a curse H423 and an oath H7621 among H8432 thy people, H5971 when the LORD H3068 doth make H5414 thy thigh H3409 to rot, H5307 and thy belly H990 to swell; H6639

22 And this water H4325 that causeth the curse H779 shall go H935 into thy bowels, H4578 to make thy belly H990 to swell, H6638 and thy thigh H3409 to rot: H5307 And the woman H802 shall say, H559 Amen, H543 amen. H543

23 And the priest H3548 shall write H3789 these curses H423 in a book, H5612 and he shall blot H4229 them out with the bitter H4751 water: H4325

24 And he shall cause the woman H802 to drink H8248 the bitter H4751 water H4325 that causeth the curse: H779 and the water H4325 that causeth the curse H779 shall enter H935 into her, and become bitter. H4751

25 Then the priest H3548 shall take H3947 the jealousy H7068 offering H4503 out of the woman's H802 hand, H3027 and shall wave H5130 the offering H4503 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 and offer H7126 it upon the altar: H4196

26 And the priest H3548 shall take an handful H7061 of the offering, H4503 even the memorial H234 thereof, and burn H6999 it upon the altar, H4196 and afterward H310 shall cause the woman H802 to drink H8248 the water. H4325

27 And when he hath made her to drink H8248 the water, H4325 then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, H2930 and have done H4603 trespass H4604 against her husband, H376 that the water H4325 that causeth the curse H779 shall enter H935 into her, and become bitter, H4751 and her belly H990 shall swell, H6638 and her thigh H3409 shall rot: H5307 and the woman H802 shall be a curse H423 among H7130 her people. H5971

28 And if the woman H802 be not defiled, H2930 but be clean; H2889 then she shall be free, H5352 and shall conceive H2232 seed. H2233

29 This is the law H8451 of jealousies, H7068 when a wife H802 goeth aside H7847 to another instead of her husband, H376 and is defiled; H2930

30 Or when the spirit H7307 of jealousy H7068 cometh H5674 upon him, H376 and he be jealous H7065 over his wife, H802 and shall set H5975 the woman H802 before H6440 the LORD, H3068 and the priest H3548 shall execute H6213 upon her all this law. H8451

31 Then shall the man H376 be guiltless H5352 from iniquity, H5771 and this H1931 woman H802 shall bear H5375 her iniquity. H5771

Numbers 5:1-31 American Standard (ASV)

1 And Jehovah 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 unclean by the dead:

3 both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camp, in the midst whereof I dwell.

4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp; as Jehovah spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.

5 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against Jehovah, and that soul shall be guilty;

7 then he shall confess his sin which he hath done: and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him in respect of whom he hath been guilty.

8 But if the man have no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made unto Jehovah shall be the priest's; besides the ram of the atonement, whereby atonement shall be made for him.

9 And every heave-offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present 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 Jehovah 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, and she be not taken in the act;

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 shall bring her oblation 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 a meal-offering of jealousy, a meal-offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before Jehovah:

17 and the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water.

18 And the priest shall set the woman before Jehovah, 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: and the priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that causeth the curse.

19 And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou have not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse.

20 But if thou have gone aside, being under thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee besides thy husband:

21 then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to fall away, and thy body to swell;

22 and this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, and make thy body to swell, and thy thigh to fall away. And the woman shall say, Amen, Amen.

23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness:

24 and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causeth the curse; and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her `and become' bitter.

25 And the priest shall take the meal-offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the meal-offering before Jehovah, and bring it unto the altar:

26 and the priest shall take a handful of the meal-offering, as the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.

27 And when he hath made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her `and become' bitter, and her body shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away: 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 jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goeth aside, and is defiled;

30 or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then shall he set the woman before Jehovah, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.

31 And the man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.

Numbers 5:1-31 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

2 `Command the sons of Israel, and they send out of the camp every leper, and every one with an issue, and every one defiled by a body;

3 from male unto female ye do send out; unto the outside of the camp ye do send them; and they defile not their camps in the midst of which I do tabernacle.'

4 And the sons of Israel do so, and they send them out unto the outside of the camp; as Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses so have the sons of Israel done.

5 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

6 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, Man or woman, when they do any of the sins of man, by committing a trespass against Jehovah, and that person `is' guilty,

7 and they have confessed their sin which they have done, then he hath restored his guilt in its principal, and its fifth is adding to it, and hath given `it' to him in reference to whom he hath been guilty.

8 `And if the man have no redeemer to restore the guilt to, the guilt which is restored `is' Jehovah's, the priest's, apart from the ram of the atonements, whereby he maketh atonement for him.

9 `And every heave-offering of all the holy things of the sons of Israel, which they bring near to the priest, becometh his;

10 and any man's hallowed things become his; that which any man giveth to the priest becometh his.'

11 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,

12 `Speak unto the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When any man's wife turneth aside, and hath committed against him a trespass,

13 and a man hath lain with her `with' the seed of copulation, and it hath been hid from the eyes of her husband, and concealed, and she hath been defiled, and there is no witness against her, and she hath not been caught,

14 and a spirit of jealousy hath passed over him, and he hath been jealous of his wife, and she hath been defiled; -- or, a spirit of jealousy hath passed over him, and he hath been jealous of his wife, and she hath not been defiled --

15 `Then hath the man brought in his wife unto the priest, and he hath brought in her offering for her, a tenth of the ephah of barley meal, he doth not pour on it oil, nor doth he put on it frankincense, for it `is' a present of jealousy, a present of memorial, causing remembrance of iniquity.

16 `And the priest hath brought her near, and hath caused her to stand before Jehovah,

17 and the priest hath taken holy water in an earthen vessel, and of the dust which is on the floor of the tabernacle doth the priest take, and hath put `it' into the water,

18 and the priest hath caused the woman to stand before Jehovah, and hath uncovered the woman's head, and hath given into her hands the present of the memorial, it `is' a present of jealousy, and in the hand of the priest are the bitter waters which cause the curse.

19 `And the priest hath caused her to swear, and hath said unto the woman, If no man hath lain with thee, and if thou hast not turned aside `to' uncleanness under thy husband, be free from these bitter waters which cause the curse;

20 and thou, if thou hast turned aside under thy husband, and if thou hast been defiled, and any man doth give his copulation to thee besides thy husband --

21 (then the priest hath caused the woman to swear with an oath of execration, and the priest hath said to the woman) -- Jehovah doth give thee for an execration, and for a curse, in the midst of thy people, in Jehovah's giving thy thigh to fall, and thy belly to swell,

22 and these waters which cause the curse have gone into thy bowels, to cause the belly to swell, and the thigh to fall; and the woman hath said, Amen, Amen.

23 `And the priest hath written these execrations in a book, and hath blotted `them' out with the bitter waters,

24 and hath caused the woman to drink the bitter waters which cause the curse, and the waters which cause the curse have entered into her for bitter things.

25 `And the priest hath taken out of the hand of the woman the present of jealousy, and hath waved the present before Jehovah, and hath brought it near unto the altar;

26 and the priest hath taken a handful of the present, its memorial, and hath made perfume on the altar, and afterwards doth cause the woman to drink the water:

27 yea, he hath caused her to drink the water, and it hath come to pass, if she hath been defiled, and doth commit a trespass against her husband, that the waters which cause the curse have gone into her for bitter things, and her belly hath swelled, and her thigh hath fallen, and the woman hath become an execration in the midst of her people.

28 `And if the woman hath not been defiled, and is clean, then she hath been acquitted, and hath been sown `with' seed.

29 `This `is' the law of jealousies, when a wife turneth aside under her husband, and hath been defiled,

30 or when a spirit of jealousy passeth over a man, and he hath been jealous of his wife, then he hath caused the woman to stand before Jehovah, and the priest hath done to her all this law,

31 and the man hath been acquitted from iniquity, and that woman doth bear her iniquity.'

Numbers 5:1-31 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

1 And Jehovah spoke to 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 a dead person:

3 both male and female shall ye put out; outside 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 outside the camp: as Jehovah had said to Moses, so did the children of Israel.

5 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any of all the sins of man to work unfaithfulness against Jehovah, and that soul is guilty,

7 then they shall confess their sin which they have done; and he shall recompense his trespass according to the principal thereof, and shall add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.

8 And if the man have no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, the trespass which is recompensed to Jehovah shall be the priest's, besides the ram of the atonement, wherewith an atonement is made for him.

9 And every heave-offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present unto the priest, shall be his.

10 And every man's hallowed things shall be his: whatever any man giveth the priest shall be his.

11 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

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

13 and a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and she be defiled in secret, and there be no witness against her, and she have not been caught;

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

15 -- then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, a tenth part of an ephah of barley-meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an oblation of jealousy, a memorial oblation, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before Jehovah.

17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and the priest shall take of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle, and put it into the water.

18 And the priest shall set the woman before Jehovah, and uncover the woman's head, and put the memorial oblation in her hands, which is the jealousy offering; and in the hand of the priest shall be the bitter water that bringeth the curse.

19 And the priest shall adjure her, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone astray in uncleanness, in being with another instead of thy husband, be free from this bitter water that bringeth the curse.

20 But if thou hast gone astray to another instead of thy husband, and hast been defiled, and a man other than thy husband have lain with thee,

21 -- then the priest shall adjure the woman with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman: Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to shrink, and thy belly to swell;

22 and this water that bringeth the curse shall enter into thy bowels, to make the belly to swell, and the thigh to shrink. And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.

23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall blot them out with the bitter water,

24 and he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that bringeth the curse, that the water that bringeth the curse may enter into her for bitterness.

25 And the priest shall take out of the woman's hand the oblation of jealousy, and shall wave the oblation before Jehovah, and shall present it at the altar.

26 And the priest shall take a handful of the oblation as a memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar; and afterwards he shall make the woman drink the water.

27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she have been defiled, and have committed unfaithfulness against her husband, that the water that bringeth the curse shall enter into her, for bitterness, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall shrink; and the woman shall become a curse among her people.

28 But if the woman have not been defiled, and be clean, then she shall be clear, and shall conceive seed.

29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth astray to another instead of her husband and is defiled,

30 or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon a man, and he is jealous as regards his wife; then shall he set the woman before Jehovah, and the priest shall do to her according to all this law.

31 Then shall the man be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her iniquity.

Numbers 5:1-31 World English Bible (WEB)

1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

2 "Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead.

3 Both male and female shall you put out, outside of the camp shall you put them; that they not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell."

4 The children of Israel did so, and put them out outside of the camp; as Yahweh spoke to Moses, so did the children of Israel.

5 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

6 "Speak to the children of Israel: When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against Yahweh, and that soul is guilty;

7 then he shall confess his sin which he has done, and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty.

8 But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to Yahweh shall be the priest's; besides the ram of the atonement, by which atonement shall be made for him.

9 Every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present to the priest, shall be his.

10 Every man's holy things shall be his: whatever any man gives the priest, it shall be his."

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 is kept close, and she is defiled, and 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: the tenth part of an ephah 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 and the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, 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 swear, 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, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.

20 But if you have gone astray, being under your husband, 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, '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 blot them out 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 the memorial of it, 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 seed.

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."

Numbers 5:1-31 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

1 And the Lord said to Moses,

2 Give orders to the children of Israel to put outside the tent-circle every leper, and anyone who has any sort of flow from his body, and anyone who is unclean from the touch of the dead;

3 Male or female they are to be put outside the tent-circle, so that they may not make unclean my resting-place among them.

4 So the children of Israel did as the Lord had said to Moses, and put them outside the tent-circle.

5 And the Lord said to Moses,

6 Say to the children of Israel, If a man or a woman does any of the sins of men, going against the word of the Lord, and is in the wrong;

7 Let them say openly what they have done; and make payment for the wrong done, with the addition of a fifth part, and give it to him to whom the wrong was done.

8 But if the man has no relation to whom the payment may be made, then the payment for sin made to the Lord will be the priest's, in addition to the sheep offered to take away his sin.

9 And every offering lifted up of all the holy things which the children of Israel give to the priest, will be his.

10 And every man's holy things will be his: whatever a man gives to the priest will be his.

11 And the Lord said to Moses,

12 Say to the children of Israel, If any man's wife does wrong, sinning against him

13 By taking as her lover another man, and keeps it secret so that her husband has no knowledge of it, and there is no witness against her, and she is not taken in the act;

14 If the spirit of doubt comes into her husband's heart, and he has doubts of his wife, with good cause; or if he has doubts of her without cause:

15 Then let him take her to the priest, offering for her the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal, without oil or perfume; for it is a meal offering of a bitter spirit, a meal offering keeping wrongdoing in mind.

16 And the priest will make her come near and put her before the Lord;

17 And the priest will take holy water in a pot and put in it dust from the floor of the House;

18 And he will make the woman come before the Lord with her hair loose, and will put the meal offering, the offering of a bitter spirit, in her hands; and the priest will take in his hand the bitter water causing the curse;

19 And he will make her take an oath, and say to her, If no man has been your lover and you have not been with another in place of your husband, you are free from this bitter water causing the curse;

20 But if you have been with another in place of your husband and have made yourself unclean with a lover:

21 Then the priest will put the oath of the curse on the woman, and say to her, May the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, sending on you wasting of the legs and disease of the stomach;

22 And this water of the curse will go into your body, causing disease of your stomach and wasting of your legs: and the woman will say, So be it.

23 And the priest will put these curses in a book, washing out the writing with the bitter water;

24 And he will give to the woman the bitter water for drink; and the bitter water causing the curse will go into her.

25 And the priest will take from her hand the meal offering of doubt, waving it before the Lord, and will take it to the altar;

26 And he will take some of it in his hand, burning it on the altar as a sign, and then he will give the woman the bitter water.

27 And it will be that if the woman has become unclean, sinning against her husband, when she has taken the bitter water it will go into her body, causing disease of the stomach and wasting of the legs, and she will be a curse among her people.

28 But if she is clean she will be free and will have offspring.

29 This is the law for testing a wife who goes with another in place of her husband and becomes unclean;

30 Or for a husband who, in a bitter spirit, has doubts in his heart about his wife; let him take her to the priest, who will put in force this law.

31 Then the man will be free from all wrong, and the woman's sin will be on her.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 5

Commentary on Numbers 5 Matthew Henry Commentary

John Gill   Keil & Delitzsch   Robert Jamieson: Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible  

Chapter 5

In this chapter we have,

  • I. An order, pursuant to the laws already made, for the removing of the unclean out of the camp (v. 1-4).
  • II. A repetition of the laws concerning restitution, in case of wrong done to a neighbour (v. 5-8), and concerning the appropriating of the hallowed things to the priests (v. 9, 10).
  • III. A new law made concerning the trial of a wife suspected of adultery, by the waters of jealousy (v. 11, etc.).

Num 5:1-10

Here is,

  • I. A command for the purifying of the camp, by turning out from within its lines all those that were ceremonially unclean, by issues, leprosies, or the touch of dead bodies, until they were cleansed according to the law, v. 2, 3.
    • 1. These orders are executed immediately, v. 4.
      • (1.) The camp was now newly-modelled and put in order, and therefore, to complete the reformation of it, it is next to be cleansed. Note, The purity of the church must be as carefully consulted and preserved as the peace and order of it. It is requisite, not only that every Israelite be confined to his own standard, but that every polluted Israelite be separated from it. The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable.
      • (2.) God's tabernacle was now fixed in the midst of their camp, and therefore they must be careful to keep it clean. Note, The greater profession of religion any house or family make the more they are obliged to put away iniquity far from their tabernacle, Job 22:23. The person, the place, in the midst of which God dwells, must not be defiled; for, if it be, he will be affronted, offended, and provoked to withdraw, 1 Co. 3:16, 17.
    • 2. This expulsion of the unclean out of the camp was to signify,
      • (1.) What the governors of the church ought to do: they must separate between the precious and the vile, and purge out scandalous persons, as old leaven (1 Co. 5:8, 13), lest others should be infected and defiled, Heb. 12:15. It is for the glory of Christ and the edification of his church that those who are openly and incorrigibly profane and vicious should be put out and kept from Christian communion till they repent.
      • (2.) What God himself will do in the great day: he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather out of his kingdom all things that offend. As here the unclean were shut out of the camp, so into the new Jerusalem no unclean thing shall enter, Rev. 21:27.
  • II. A law concerning restitution, in case of wrong done to a neighbour. It is called a sin that men commit (v. 6), because it is common among men; a sin of man, that is, a sin against man, so it is thought it should be translated and understood. If a man overreach or defraud his brother in any matter, it is to be looked upon as a trespass against the Lord, who is the protector of right, the punisher of wrong, and who strictly charges and commands us to do justly. Now what is to be done when a man's awakened conscience charges him with guilt of this kind, and brings it to his remembrance though done long ago?
    • 1. He must confess his sin, confess it to God, confess it to his neighbour, and so take shame to himself. If he have denied it before, though it go against the grain to own himself in a lie, yet he must do it; because his heart was hardened he denied it, therefore he has no other way of making it appear that his heart is now softened but by confessing it.
    • 2. He must bring a sacrifice, a ram of atonement, v. 8. Satisfaction must be made for the offence done to God, whose law is broken, as well as for the loss sustained by our neighbour; restitution in this case is not sufficient without faith and repentance.
    • 3. Yet the sacrifices would not be accepted till full amends were made to the party wronged, not only the principal, but a fifth part added to it, v. 7. It is certain that while that which is got by injustice is knowingly retained in the hands the guilt of the injustice remains upon the conscience, and is not purged by sacrifice nor offering, prayers not tears, for it is one and the same continued act of sin persisted in. This law we had before (Lev. 6:4), and it is here added that if the party wronged was dead, and he had no near kinsman who was entitled to the debt, or if it was any way uncertain to whom the restitution should be made, this should not serve for an excuse to detain what was unjustly gotten; to whomsoever it pertained, it was certainly none of his that got it by sin, and therefore it must be given to the priest, v. 8. If there were any that could make out a title to it, it must not be given to the priest (God hates robbery for burnt-offerings); but, if there were not, then it lapsed to the great Lord (ob defectum sanguinis-for want of issue), and the priests were his receivers. Note, Some work of piety or charity is a piece of necessary justice to be done by those who are conscience to themselves that they have done wrong, but know not how otherwise to make restitution; what is not our property will never be our profit.
  • III. A general rule concerning hallowed things given upon this occasion, that, whatever was given to the priest, his it shall be, v. 9, 10.
    • 1. He that gave it was not to receive his gift again upon any pretence whatsoever. This law ratifies and confirms all grants for pious uses, that people might not give things to the priests in a fit of zeal, and then recall them in a fit of vexation.
    • 2. The other priests should not come in sharers with that priest who then officiated, and to whom the hallowed thing, whatever it was, was given. Let him that was most ready and diligent in attending fare the better for it: if he do the work, let him have the pay, and much good may it do him.

Num 5:11-31

We have here the law concerning the solemn trial of a wife whose husband was jealous of her. Observe,

  • I. What was the case supposed: That a man had some reason to suspect his wife to have committed adultery, v. 12-14. Here,
    • 1. The sin of adultery is justly represented as an exceedingly sinful sin; it is going aside from God and virtue, and the good way, Prov. 2:17. It is committing a trespass against the husband, robbing him of his honour, alienating his right, introducing a spurious breed into his family to share with his children in his estate, and violating her covenant with him. It is being defiled; for nothing pollutes the mind and conscience more than this sin does.
    • 2. It is supposed to be a sin which great care is taken by the sinners to conceal, which there is no witness of. The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Job 24:15. And the adulteress takes her opportunity when the good man is not at home, Prov. 7:19. It would not covet to be secret if it were not shameful; and the devil who draws sinners to this sin teaches them how to cover it.
    • 3. The spirit of jealousy is supposed to come upon the husband, of which Solomon says, It is the rage of a man (Prov. 6:34), and that it is cruel as the grave, Cant. 8:6.
    • 4. "Yet' (say the Jewish writers) "he must make it appear that he has some just cause for the suspicion.' The rule they give is, "If the husband have said unto his wife before witnesses, 'Be not thou in secret with such a man;' and, notwithstanding that admonition, it is afterwards proved that she was in secret with that man, though her father or her brother, then he may compel her to drink the bitter water.' But the law here does not tie him to that particular method of proving the just cause of his suspicion; it might be otherwise proved. In case it could be proved that she had committed adultery, she was to be put to death (Lev. 20:10); but, if it was uncertain, then this law took place. Hence,
      • (1.) Let all wives be admonished not to give any the least occasion for the suspicion of their chastity; it is not enough that they abstain from the evil of uncleanness, but they must abstain from all appearance of it, from every thing that looks like it, or leads to it, or may give the least umbrage to jealousy; for how great a matter may a little fire kindle!
      • (2.) Let all husbands be admonished not to entertain any causeless or unjust suspicions of their wives. If charity in general, much more conjugal affection, teaches to think no evil, 1 Co. 13:5. It is the happiness of the virtuous woman that the heart of her husband does safely trust in her, Prov. 31:11.
  • II. What was the course prescribed in this case, that, if the suspected wife was innocent, she might not continue under the reproach and uneasiness of her husband's jealousy, and, if guilty, her sin might find her out, and others might hear, and fear, and take warning.
    • 1. The process of the trial must be thus:-
      • (1.) Her husband must bring her to the priest, with the witnesses that could prove the ground of his suspicion, and desire that she might be put upon her trial. The Jews say that the priest was first to endeavour to persuade her to confess the truth, saying to this purport, "Dear daughter, perhaps thou wast overtaken by drinking wine, or wast carried away by the heat of youth or the examples of bad neighbours; come, confess the truth, for the sake of his great name which is described in the most sacred ceremony, and do not let it be blotted out with the bitter water.' If she confessed, saying, "I am defiled,' she was not put to death, but was divorced and lost her dowry; if she said, "I am pure,' then they proceeded.
      • (2.) He must bring a coarse offering of barley-meal, without oil or frankincense, agreeably to the present afflicted state of his family; for a great affliction it was either to have cause to be jealous or to be jealous without cause. It is an offering of memorial, to signify that what was to be done was intended as a religious appeal to the omniscience and justice of God.
      • (3.) The priest was to prepare the water of jealousy, the holy water out of the laver at which the priests were to wash when they ministered; this must be brought in an earthen vessel, containing (they say) about a pint; and it must be an earthen vessel, because the coarser and plainer every thing was the more agreeable it was to the occasion. Dust must be put into the water, to signify the reproach she lay under, and the shame she ought to take to herself, putting her mouth in the dust; but dust from the floor of the tabernacle, to put an honour upon every thing that pertained to the place God had chosen to put his name there, and to keep up in the people a reverence for it; see Jn. 8:6.
      • (4.) The woman was to be set before the Lord, at the east gate of the temple-court (say the Jews), and her head was to be uncovered, in token of her sorrowful condition; and there she stood for a spectacle to the world, that other women might learn not to do after her lewdness, Eze. 23:48. Only the Jews say, "Her own servants were not to be present, that she might not seem vile in their sight, who were to give honour to her; her husband also must be dismissed.'
      • (5.) The priest was to adjure her to tell the truth, and to denounce the curse of God against her if she were guilty, and to declare what would be the effect of her drinking the water of jealousy, v. 19-22. He must assure her that, if she were innocent, the water would do her no harm, v. 19. None need fear the curse of the law if they have not broken the commands of the law. But, if she were guilty, this water would be poison to her, it would make her belly to swell and her thigh to rot, and she should be a curse or abomination among her people, v. 21, 22. To this she must say, Amen, as Israel must do to the curses pronounced on mount Ebal, Deu. 27:15-26. Some think the Amen, being doubled, respects both parts of the adjuration, both that which freed her if innocent and that which condemned her if guilty. No woman, if she were guilty, could say Amen to this adjuration, and drink the water upon it, unless she disbelieved the truth of God or defied his justice, and had come to such a pitch of impudence and hard-heartedness in sin as to challenge God Almighty to do his worst, and choose rather to venture upon his curse than to give him glory by making confession; thus has whoredom taken away the heart.
      • (6.) The priest was to write this curse in a scrip or scroll o parchment, verbatim-word for word, as he had expressed it, and then to wipe or scrape out what he had written into the water (v. 23), to signify that it was that curse which impregnated the water, and gave it its strength to effect what was intended. It signified that, if she were innocent, the curse should be blotted out and never appear against her, as it is written, Isa. 43:25, I am he that blotteth out thy transgression, and Ps. 51:9, Blot out my iniquities; but that, if she were guilty, the curse, as it was written, being infused into the water, would enter into her bowels with the water, even like oil into her bones (Ps. 109:18), as we read of a curse entering into a house, Zec. 5:4.
      • (7.) The woman must then drink the water (v. 24); it is called the bitter water, some think because they put wormwood in it to make it bitter, or rather because it caused the curse. Thus sin is called an evil thing and a bitter for the same reason, because it causeth the curse, Jer. 2:19. If she had been guilty (and otherwise it did not cause the curse), she was made to know that though her stolen waters had been sweet, and her bread eaten in secret pleasant, yet the end was bitter as wormwood, Prov. 9:17, and ch. 5:4. Let all that meddle with forbidden pleasures know that they will be bitterness in the latter end. The Jews say that if, upon denouncing the curse, the woman was so terrified that she durst not drink the water, but confessed she was defiled, the priest flung down the water, and cast her offering among the ashes, and she was divorced without dowry: if she confessed not, and yet would not drink, they forced her to it; and, if she was ready to throw it up again, they hastened her away, that she might not pollute the holy place.
      • (8.) Before she drank the water, the jealousy-offering was waved and offered upon the altar (v. 25, 26); a handful of it was burnt for a memorial, and the remainder of it eaten by the priest, unless the husband was a priest, and then it was scattered among the ashes. This offering in the midst of the transaction signified that the whole was an appeal to God, as a God that knows all things, and from whom no secret is hid.
      • (9.) All things being thus performed according to the law, they were to wait the issue. The water, with a little dust put into it, and the scrapings of a written parchment, had no natural tendency at all to do either good or hurt; but if God was thus appealed to in the way of an instituted ordinance, though otherwise the innocent might have continued under suspicion and the guilty undiscovered, yet God would so far own his own institution as that in a little time, by the miraculous operation of Providence, the innocency of the innocent should be cleared, and the sin of the guilty should find them out.
        • [1.] If the suspected woman was really guilty, the water she drank would be poison to her (v. 27), her belly would swell and her thigh rot by a vile disease for vile deserts, and she would mourn at the last when her flesh and body were consumed, Prov. 5:11. Bishop Patrick says, from some of the Jewish writers, that the effect of these waters appeared immediately, she grew pale, and her eyes ready to start out of her head. Dr. Lightfoot says that sometimes it appeared not for two or three years, but she bore no children, was sickly, languished, and rotted at last; it is probable that some indications appeared immediately. The rabbin say that the adulterer also died in the same day and hour that the adulteress did, and in the same manner too, that he belly swelled, and his secret parts rotted: a disease perhaps not much unlike that which in these latter ages the avenging hand of a righteous God has made the scourge of uncleanness, and with which whores and whoremongers infect, and plague, and ruin one another, since they escape punishment from men. The Jewish doctors add that the waters had this effect upon the adulteress only in case the husband had never offended in the same kind; but that, if he had at any time defiled the marriage-bed, God did not thus right him against his injurious wife; and that therefore in the latter and degenerate ages of the Jewish church, when uncleanness did abound, this way of trial was generally disused and laid aside; men, knowing their own crimes, were content not to know their wives' crimes. And to this perhaps may refer the threatening (Hos. 4:14), I will not punish your spouses when they commit adultery, for you yourselves are separated with whores.
        • [2.] If she were innocent, the water she drank would be physic to her: She shall be free, and shall conceive seed, v. 28. The Jewish writers magnify the good effects of this water to the innocent woman, that, to recompense her for the wrong done to her by the suspicion, she should, after the drinking of these waters, be stronger and look better than ever; if she was sickly, she should become healthful, should bear a man-child, and have easy labour.
    • 2. From the whole we may learn,
      • (1.) That secret sins are known to God, and sometimes are strangely brought to light in this life; however, there is a day coming when God will, by Jesus Christ, as here by the priest, judge the secrets of men according to the gospel, Rom. 2:16.
      • (2.) That, in particular, Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. The violation of conjugal faith and chastity is highly provoking to the God of heaven, and sooner or later it will be reckoned for. Though we have not now the waters of jealousy to be a sensible terror to the unclean, yet we have a word from God which ought to be as great a terror, that if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, 1 Co. 3:17.
      • (3.) That God will find out some way or other to clear the innocency of the innocent, and to bring forth their righteousness as the light.
      • (4.) That to the pure all things are pure, but to the defiled nothing is so, Tit. 1:15. The same word is to some a savour of life unto life, to others a savour of death unto death, like those waters of jealousy, according as they receive it; the same providence is for good to some and for hurt to others, Jer. 24:5, 8, 9. And, whatsoever it is intended for, it shall not return void.