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Numbers 5
1599 Geneva Bible
Numbers 5
1599 Geneva Bible
5 2 The leprous and the polluted shall be cast forth. 6 The purging of sin. 15 The trial of the suspect wife.
1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel that they (A)put out of the host every leper, and every one that hath (B)an issue, and whosoever is defiled by (C)the dead.
3 Both male and female shall ye put out: [a]out of the host shall ye put them, that they defile not their [b]tents among whom I dwell.
4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out of the host, even as the Lord had commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.
5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
6 Speak unto the children of Israel, (D)When a man or woman shall commit any sin [c]that men commit, and transgress against the Lord, when that person shall trespass,
7 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done, and shall restore the damage thereof (E)with his principal, and put the fifth part of it more thereto, and shall give it unto him, against whom he hath trespassed.
8 But if the [d]man have no kinsman, to whom he should restore the damage, the damage shall be restored to the Lord for the Priest’s use, besides the ram of the atonement, whereby he shall make atonement for him.
9 And every offering of all the [e]holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the Priest, shallbe (F)his.
10 And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: that is, 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 [f]turn to evil, and commit a trespass against him,
13 So that another man lie with her fleshly, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and kept close, and yet she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she taken with the manner,
14 [g]If he be moved with a jealous mind, so that he is jealous over his wife, which is defiled, or if he have a jealous mind, so that he is jealous over his wife, which is not defiled,
15 Then shall the man bring his wife to the Priest, and bring her offering with her, the tenth part of an Ephah of barley meal, but he shall not pour [h]oil upon it, nor put incense thereon: for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering for a remembrance, calling the sin to [i]mind.
16 And the Priest shall bring her, and set her before the Lord.
17 Then the Priest shall take [j]the holy water in an earthen vessel, and of the dust that is in the floor of the Tabernacle, even the Priest shall take it and put it into the water.
18 After the Priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of the memorial in her hands: it is the jealousy offering, and the Priest shall have bitter and [k]cursed water in his hand,
19 And the Priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, neither thou hast turned to uncleanness from thine husband, be free from this bitter and cursed water.
20 But if thou hast turned from thine husband, and so art defiled, and some man hath lain with thee besides 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 to be [l]accursed, and detestable for the oath among the people, and the Lord cause thy thigh to [m]rot, and thy belly to swell:
22 And that this cursed water may go into thy bowels, to cause thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot. Then the woman shall answer, [n]Amen, Amen.
23 After, the Priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall [o]blot them out with the bitter water,
24 And shall cause the woman to drink the bitter and cursed water, and the cursed water turned into bitterness shall enter into her.
25 Then the Priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall shake the offering before the Lord, and offer it upon the altar.
26 And the Priest shall take an handful of the offering for a [p]memorial thereof, and burn it upon the [q]altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water.
27 When he hath made her drink the water, if she be defiled and have trespassed against her husband, then shall the cursed water, turned into bitterness, enter into her, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot, and the woman shall be accursed among her people.
28 But if the woman be not defiled, but be [r]clean, she shall be free, and shall conceive and bear.
29 This is the law of jealousy, when a wife turneth from her husband and is defiled,
30 Or, when a man is moved with a jealous mind, being jealous over his wife, then shall he bring the woman before the Lord, and the Priest shall do to her according to all this law,
31 And the man shall be [s]free from sin, but this woman shall bear her iniquity.
Footnotes
- Numbers 5:3 Or, in a place out of the host.
- Numbers 5:3 There were three manner of tents: of the Lord, of the Levites, and of the Israelites.
- Numbers 5:6 Commit any fault willingly.
- Numbers 5:8 If he be dead to whom the wrong is done, and also have no kinsman.
- Numbers 5:9 Or, things offered to the Lord, as firstfruits, etc.
- Numbers 5:12 By breaking the band of marriage, and playing the harlot.
- Numbers 5:14 Hebrew, If the spirit of jealousy come upon him.
- Numbers 5:15 Only in the sin offering, and so this offering of jealousy were neither oil nor incense offered.
- Numbers 5:15 Or, making the sin known, and not purging it.
- Numbers 5:17 Which also is called the water of purification or sprinkling, read Num. 19:9.
- Numbers 5:18 It was so called by the effect, because it declared the woman to be accursed, and turned to her destruction.
- Numbers 5:21 Both because she had committed so heinous a fault, and forsware herself in denying the same.
- Numbers 5:21 Hebrew, to fall.
- Numbers 5:22 That is, be it so, as thou wishest, as Ps. 41:23; Deut. 27:15.
- Numbers 5:23 Shall wash the curses, which are written, into the water in the vessel.
- Numbers 5:26 Or, perfume.
- Numbers 5:26 Where the incense was offered.
- Numbers 5:28 Or, innocent.
- Numbers 5:31 The man might accuse his wife upon suspicion, and not be reproved.
Numbers 5
New International Version
Numbers 5
New International Version
The Purity of the Camp
5 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease[a](A) or a discharge(B) of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean(C) because of a dead body.(D) 3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.(E)” 4 The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.
Restitution for Wrongs
5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way[b] and so is unfaithful(F) to the Lord is guilty(G) 7 and must confess(H) the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution(I) for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged. 8 But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the Lord and must be given to the priest, along with the ram(J) with which atonement is made for the wrongdoer.(K) 9 All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him.(L) 10 Sacred things belong to their owners, but what they give to the priest will belong to the priest.(M)’”
The Test for an Unfaithful Wife
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man’s wife goes astray(N) and is unfaithful to him 13 so that another man has sexual relations with her,(O) and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act), 14 and if feelings of jealousy(P) come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure—or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure— 15 then he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah[c](Q) of barley flour(R) on her behalf. He must not pour olive oil on it or put incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy,(S) a reminder-offering(T) to draw attention to wrongdoing.
16 “‘The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the Lord. 17 Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. 18 After the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall loosen her hair(U) and place in her hands the reminder-offering, the grain offering for jealousy,(V) while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse.(W) 19 Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other man has had sexual relations with you and you have not gone astray(X) and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse(Y) not harm you. 20 But if you have gone astray(Z) while married to your husband and you have made yourself impure by having sexual relations with a man other than your husband”— 21 here the priest is to put the woman under this curse(AA)—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse[d] among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. 22 May this water(AB) that brings a curse(AC) enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.”
“‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.(AD)”
23 “‘The priest is to write these curses on a scroll(AE) and then wash them off into the bitter water. 24 He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering will enter her. 25 The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lord(AF) and bring it to the altar. 26 The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial[e] offering(AG) and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water. 27 If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse.(AH) 28 If, however, the woman has not made herself impure, but is clean, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.
29 “‘This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray(AI) and makes herself impure while married to her husband, 30 or when feelings of jealousy(AJ) come over a man because he suspects his wife. The priest is to have her stand before the Lord and is to apply this entire law to her. 31 The husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing, but the woman will bear the consequences(AK) of her sin.’”
Footnotes
- Numbers 5:2 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
- Numbers 5:6 Or woman who commits any wrong common to mankind
- Numbers 5:15 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms
- Numbers 5:21 That is, may he cause your name to be used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, may others see that you are cursed; similarly in verse 27.
- Numbers 5:26 Or representative
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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