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BibleStudyIt Numbers 5

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Unclean people

5 The Lord said to Moses, 2 ‘Speak to the Israelites. They must send any person with a disease of the skin away from the camp. Or somebody may have a disease that causes pus to come out of his body. Any person like that is not clean. Anyone who has touched a dead person is also not clean. Send those people out of the camp too. 3 Do this with both men and women. Send them out of the camp. They must not make the camp unclean, because that is where I live among the people.’

4 The Israelites did what the Lord had said to Moses. They sent those people outside the camp.

What to pay when you do a wrong thing

5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 ‘Tell these rules to the Israelites: A person might do a wrong thing against another person. If they do, then they have turned against the Lord . 7 That person must agree that they have sinned. They must pay the right amount to the other person. They must also pay them one fifth extra. 8 But the other person may have died. If they have no relative who can accept the money, the money must go to the Lord . The person who did a wrong thing must give the money and a male sheep to the priest. The sheep is a special gift to the Lord to make everything right. Then I will forgive that person. 9 All the special gifts from the Israelites to God are for the priest. 10 The priest will keep all the special gifts.’

Husbands and wives

11 The Lord said to Moses:

12 ‘Speak to the Israelites. Tell them to follow these rules. A woman may do wrong things against her husband. 13 She might have had sex with another man. The husband might not know about this. His wife might have kept it secret. Nobody came in while it was happening. So there is nobody to say that it happened. 14 But the man may think that it happened. He will be angry. But she may not have made herself unclean in that way. 15 The man must take his wife to the priest. He must bring one kilogram of barley flour with him. This is a grain offering to discover if his wife really did do those things. So he must not put oil or incense on the grain offering. That is an offering because the man does not trust his wife.

16 Then the priest will bring the woman to stand in front of the Lord . 17 He must pour some holy water into a bowl that someone has made from clay. [ a ] He must take some dust from the floor of God's Tent. And he must put the dust into the water. 18 Then the priest must bring the woman in front of the Lord . The priest must make the woman's hair free. He must put into her hands the grain offering. That is the offering because the man does not trust his wife. The priest must hold the bowl that contains the bitter water. The bitter water brings a curse. 19 Then the woman must agree to the strong promise that the priest tells her to say.

The priest must say to her, “This water brings a curse. If no other man has had sex with you, it will not hurt you. 20 But if another man has had sex with you, 21 may the Lord bring the curse on you. The bitter water will cause your female parts to become smaller. Your stomach will become very big. 22 That will happen when you drink the bitter water.”

The woman must say, “That should happen. I agree!”

23 The priest must write the curses on special paper. Then he must wash the words off the paper into the bitter water. 24 He must tell the woman that she must drink the bitter water. This water that brings a curse will go into her body. It may cause her to be very ill. 25 But first, the priest must take the grain offering from her hands. That is the offering because the man does not trust his wife. The priest must lift it up in front of the Lord . Then he must bring it to the altar. 26 He must burn a small part of it as a sacrifice. After that, the woman must drink the bitter water. 27 If the woman has had sex with another man, the water will cause her to have very bad pain. Her female parts will become smaller. Her stomach will become very big. And people will curse her. 28 But, if she did not do those wrong things, the water will not hurt her. She will be able to have babies.

29-30 Perhaps a man is jealous because his wife has had sex with another man. Or he may only think that his wife has had sex with another man. This is what the law says that the priest must do: The man must bring her in front of the Lord . 31 If the woman did not do those wrong things, you must not punish her husband. But if the woman did do those wrong things, you must punish her.’

Footnotes

  1. 5:17 ‘Holy water’ was special water that the priests kept in God's tent.

Rules About Cleanliness

5 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people to send away from the camp anyone who is unclean, that is, anyone who has a serious skin disease [ a ] or discharge and anyone who has touched a dead body. 3 Whether they are a man or a woman, send them away so that the camp where I am living among you will not be made unclean.”

4 So the Israelites obeyed God’s command. They sent those people outside the camp. They did what the Lord had told Moses.

Paying for Doing Wrong

5 The Lord said to Moses, 6 “Tell this to the Israelites: You might do something wrong to another person. When you do that, you are really sinning against God. So you are guilty of doing wrong. 7 You must confess that sin. Then you must fully pay for that wrong thing you did. You must add one-fifth to the payment and give it all to the person you had done wrong to. 8 But maybe the person is dead and does not have any close relatives to accept the payment. In that case, you will give the payment to the Lord . That is, you will give the full payment to the priest. The priest must sacrifice the ram that makes people pure. This ram will be sacrificed to cover over your sins, but the priest will keep the rest of the payment.

9 “If any of you Israelites gives a special gift to God, the priest who accepts that gift can keep it. It is his. 10 You don’t have to give these special gifts, but if you do, the gifts belong to the priest.”

Jealous Husbands

11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “Tell the Israelites this: A man’s wife might be unfaithful to him. 13 She might have sexual relations with another man and hide this from her husband. And there might not be anyone to tell him that his wife committed this sin. Her husband might never know about the wrong thing she did, and she might not tell her husband about her sin. 14 But the husband might begin to think that his wife sinned against him, whether she has or not. He might become jealous. He might begin to believe that she is not pure and true to him. 15 If that happens, he must take his wife to the priest. The husband must also take an offering of 8 cups [ b ] of barley flour. He must not pour oil or incense on the barley flour. This barley flour is a grain offering to the Lord that is given because the husband is jealous. This offering will show that he thinks his wife has been unfaithful to him.

16 “The priest will take the woman before the Lord and make her stand there. 17 Then he will take some special water and put it in a clay jar. He will put some dirt from the floor of the Holy Tent into the water. 18 He will force the woman to stand before the Lord . Then he will loosen her hair and put the grain offering in her hand. This is the barley flour that her husband gave because he was jealous. At the same time, he will hold the clay jar of special water. This is the special water that can bring trouble to the woman.

19 “Then the priest will make the woman promise to tell the truth and say to her: ‘If you have not slept with another man, and if you have not sinned against your husband while you were married to him, then this water that causes trouble will not hurt you. 20 But if you have sinned against your husband—if you had sexual relations with a man who is not your husband—then you are not pure. 21 If that is true, you will have much trouble when you drink this special water. You will not be able to have any children. And if you are pregnant now, your baby will die. [ c ] And the Lord will cause your people to speak evil of you and curse you.’

“Then the priest must tell the woman to make an oath. She must agree for the Lord to cause these things to happen to her if she lies. 22 The priest must say, ‘You must drink this water that causes trouble. If you have sinned, you will not be able to have children. Any baby you have will die before it is born.’ And the woman should say, ‘I agree to do as you say.’

23 “The priest should write these warnings on a scroll. Then he should wash the words off into the water. 24 Then the woman must drink the water that brings trouble. This water will enter her and, if she is guilty, it will cause her much suffering.

25 “Then the priest will take the grain offering from her (the offering for jealousy) and raise it before the Lord . Then he will carry it to the altar. 26 The priest will fill his hands with some of the grain and put it on the altar and let it burn there. After that he will tell the woman to drink the water. 27 If the woman has sinned against her husband, the water will bring her trouble. The water will go into her body and cause her much suffering. Any baby that is in her will die before it is born, and she will never be able to have children. All the people will turn against her. [ d ] 28 But if the woman has not sinned against her husband and she is pure, the priest will say that she is not guilty. Then she will be normal and able to have children.

29 “So this is the law about jealousy. This is what you should do when a woman sins against her husband while she is married to him. 30 Or if the man becomes jealous and thinks his wife has sinned against him, this is what the man should do. The priest must tell her to stand before the Lord . Then the priest will do all these things. This is the law. 31 The husband will not be guilty of doing anything wrong, but the woman will suffer if she has sinned.”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 5:2 serious skin disease This could be leprosy, or it could be another kind of contagious skin disease.
  2. Numbers 5:15 8 cups Literally, “1/10 of an ephah” (2.2 l).
  3. Numbers 5:21 You will … die Literally, “Your loins will fall and your belly will swell.”
  4. Numbers 5:27 All … against her Literally, “She will be like a curse among the people.”

5 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.

On Defilement

5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the sons of Israel that they ( A ) send away from the camp everyone with leprosy, everyone having a ( B ) discharge, and everyone who is ( C ) unclean because of contact with a dead person. 3 You shall send away both male and female; you shall send them outside the camp so that they do not defile their camp where I dwell ( D ) in their midst.” 4 And the sons of Israel did so and sent them outside the camp; just as the Lord had spoken to Moses, that is what the sons of Israel did.

5 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the sons of Israel: ‘ ( E ) When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the Lord , and that person is guilty, 7 then [ a ] he shall ( F ) confess [ b ] his sin which [ c ] he has committed, and he ( G ) shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it a fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged. 8 But if the person has no [ d ] redeemer to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution which is made for the wrong must go to the Lord for the priest, besides the ram of atonement, by which atonement is made for him. 9 ( H ) Also every [ e ] contribution pertaining to all the holy gifts of the sons of Israel, which they offer to the priest, shall be his. 10 So every person’s holy gifts shall be his; whatever anyone gives to the priest, it ( I ) becomes his.’”

The Adultery Test

11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife ( J ) goes astray and is unfaithful to him, 13 and a man has ( K ) sexual relations with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she remains undiscovered, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, 14 [ f ] if [ g ] an attitude of ( L ) jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has defiled herself, or if [ h ] an attitude of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself, 15 the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as [ i ] an offering for her a tenth of an [ j ] ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of reminder, ( M ) a reminder of wrongdoing.

16 ‘Then the priest shall bring her forward and have her stand before the Lord , 17 and the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware container; and [ k ] he shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it in the water. 18 The priest shall then have the woman stand before the Lord and let down the hair of the woman’s head, and place the grain offering of reminder [ l ] in her hands, that is, the grain offering of jealousy; and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings a curse. 19 And the priest shall have her take an oath and shall say to the woman, “If no man has had sexual relations with you and if you have not ( N ) gone astray into uncleanness, as you are under the authority of your husband, be [ m ] immune to this water of bitterness that brings a curse; 20 if, however, you have ( O ) gone astray, though under the authority of your husband, and if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has had sexual intercourse with you” 21 (then the priest shall have the woman ( P ) swear with the oath of the curse, and the priest shall say to the woman), “may the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people by the Lord s making your thigh [ n ] shriveled and your [ o ] belly swollen; 22 and this water that brings a curse shall go into your [ p ] stomach, to make your belly swell up and your thigh [ q ] shrivel.” And the woman ( Q ) shall say, “Amen, Amen.”

23 ‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll, and he shall [ r ] wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 Then he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse, so that the water which brings a curse will go into her [ s ] and 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 the Lord and bring it to the altar; 26 and ( R ) the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its reminder offering and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then it will come about, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings a curse will go into her [ t ] and cause bitterness, and her belly will swell up and her thigh will [ u ] shrivel, and the woman will become ( S ) a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be [ v ] immune and conceive [ w ] children.

29 ‘This is the law of jealousy: when a wife, who is under the authority of her husband, ( T ) goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when [ x ] an attitude of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife, he shall then have the woman stand before the Lord , and the priest shall apply all of this law to her. 31 The man, moreover, will be free of [ y ] guilt, but that woman shall ( U ) bear the consequences of her [ z ] guilt.’”

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 5:7 Lit they
  2. Numbers 5:7 Lit their
  3. Numbers 5:7 Lit they have
  4. Numbers 5:8 I.e., male relative to act in his behalf
  5. Numbers 5:9 Or uplifted offering
  6. Numbers 5:14 Lit and
  7. Numbers 5:14 Lit a spirit
  8. Numbers 5:14 Lit a spirit
  9. Numbers 5:15 Lit her offering
  10. Numbers 5:15 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  11. Numbers 5:17 Lit the priest
  12. Numbers 5:18 Lit on her palms
  13. Numbers 5:19 Lit free from
  14. Numbers 5:21 Lit collapsed
  15. Numbers 5:21 Possibly the womb, and so throughout the ch
  16. Numbers 5:22 Or inward parts
  17. Numbers 5:22 Lit collapse
  18. Numbers 5:23 Lit wipe
  19. Numbers 5:24 Lit for bitterness
  20. Numbers 5:27 Lit for bitterness
  21. Numbers 5:27 Lit collapse
  22. Numbers 5:28 Lit free
  23. Numbers 5:28 Lit seed
  24. Numbers 5:30 Lit a spirit
  25. Numbers 5:31 Or wrongdoing
  26. Numbers 5:31 Or wrongdoing

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

  1. Numbers 5:2 The Hebrew word for defiling skin disease , traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  2. Numbers 5:6 Or woman who commits any wrong common to mankind
  3. Numbers 5:15 That is, probably about 3 1/2 pounds or about 1.6 kilograms
  4. 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.
  5. Numbers 5:26 Or representative