Numbers 5

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 Charge the children of Israel, and let them send forth out of the camp every leper, and every one who has in issue of the reins, and every one who is unclean from a dead body.

“Tell this to the Israeli people: ‘You must send away from your (camp/area where you have your tents) any man or woman who has leprosy and anyone who has a discharge [of some fluid from his body], and anyone who has become unacceptable to God because of [having touched] a corpse.

3 Whether male or female, send them forth out of the camp; and they shall not defile their camps in which I dwell among them.

Send them away from there in order that they will not [touch people in the camp area] where I live among you and cause them to become unacceptable to me.’”

4 And the children of Israel did so, and sent them out of the camp: as the Lord said to Moses, so did the children of Israel.

So [Moses/I told that to the Israeli people, and] the Israeli people obeyed what Yahweh commanded Moses/me.

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also told Moses/me,

6 Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Every man or woman who shall commit any sin that is common to man, or if that soul shall in anywise have neglected the commandment and transgressed;

“Tell this to the Israeli people: ‘If someone (commits a crime against/does something wrong to) another person, [I consider that] that person has done wrong to me.

7 [that person] shall confess the sin which he has committed, and shall make satisfaction for his trespass: he [shall pay] the principal, and shall add to it the fifth part, and shall make restoration to him against whom he has trespassed.

That person must confess that he or she is guilty, and he or she must pay to the person to whom wrong was done [what others consider to be a suitable/proper payment] for what he has done, and he must pay an extra 20 percent.

8 But if a man have no near kinsman, so as to make satisfaction for his trespass to him, the trespass-offering paid to the Lord shall be for the priest, besides the ram of atonement, by which he shall make atonement with it for him.

If the person against whom the wrong was done [has died and] there is no relative to whom the money can be paid, then the money belongs to me, and it must be paid to the priest. In addition, the one who did the wrong must give a male sheep to the priest [to sacrifice] in order that (that person’s sin may be forgiven/I can forgive that person for his sin).

9 And every first-fruits in all the sanctified things among the children of Israel, whatsoever they shall offer to the Lord, shall be for the priest himself.

All the sacred offerings that the Israelis bring to the priest belong to the priest.

10 And the hallowed things of every man shall be his; and whatever man shall give [any thing] to the priest, the gift shall be his.

The priest can keep those gifts.’”

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:

12 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Whosesoever wife shall transgress against him, and slight and despise him,

“Tell this to the Israeli people: ‘Suppose a man thinks that his wife has slept with another man,

13 and [supposing] any one shall lie with her carnally, and the thing shall be hid from the eyes of her husband, and she should conceal it and be herself defiled, and there be no witness with her, and she should not be taken;

but neither he nor anyone else knows if it is true or not, because no one saw her doing that.

14 and there should come upon him a spirit of jealousy, and he should be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled; or there should come upon him a spirit of jealousy, and he should be jealous of his wife, and she should not be defiled;

But if the woman’s husband is jealous, and if he suspects that she has committed adultery, and he wants to know whether that is true or not,

15 then shall the man bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring his gift for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley-meal: he shall not pour oil upon it, neither shall he put frankincense upon it; for it is a sacrifice of jealousy, a sacrifice of memorial, recalling sin to remembrance.

he should take his wife to the priest. He must take along as an offering two quarts/liters of barley flour. The priest must not pour [olive] oil or incense on it, because this is an offering that the man has brought because he (is jealous/wants his wife to sleep only with him). It is an offering to find out if she is guilty or not. [Neither olive oil nor incense should be used because are associated with joy and this is not a time for joy.]

16 And the priest shall bring her, and cause her to stand before the Lord.

The priest must tell the woman to stand [in front of the altar] in my presence.

17 And the priest shall take pure running water in an earthen vessel, and he shall take of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle of witness, and the priest having taken it shall cast it into the water.

He must put some sacred water in a clay jar, and then he must put some dirt from the floor of the Sacred Tent into the water.

18 And the priest shall cause the woman to stand before the Lord, and shall uncover the head of the woman, and shall put into her hands the sacrifice of memorial, the sacrifice of jealousy; and in the hand of the priest shall be the water of this conviction that brings the curse.

He must untie/unfasten the woman’s hair. Then he must put in her hands the grain that her jealous husband is offering to determine whether she has committed adultery or not. The priest must hold [the bowl that contains] bitter water that will cause (the woman to be cursed/bad things to happen to the woman) [if she is guilty].

19 And the priest shall adjure her, and shall say to the woman, If no one has lain with thee, and if thou hast not transgressed so as to be polluted, being under the power of thy husband, be free from this water of the conviction that causes the curse.

The priest must require her to solemnly declare [that she will tell the truth]. Then he must say to her, “Has another man had sex [EUP] with you? Have you faithfully [slept only with your husband] or not? If you have not slept with another man, nothing bad will happen to you if you drink the water.

20 But if being a married woman thou hast transgressed, or been polluted, and any one has lain with thee, beside thy husband:

But if you have had sex with another man, [Yahweh will curse you].

21 then the priest shall adjure the woman by the oaths of this curse, and the priest shall say to the woman, The Lord bring thee into a curse and under an oath in the midst of thy people, in that the Lord should cause thy thigh to rot and thy belly to swell;

Your womb will shrivel up and your stomach will swell up. You will never be able to give birth to children, and as a result, everyone will curse you and avoid you. If you have committed adultery, [when you drink] this water, that is what will happen to you.” Then the woman must answer, “[If I am guilty], I will not object if that happens.”

22 and this water bringing the curse shall enter into thy womb to cause thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot. And the woman shall say, So be it, So be it.

23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall blot them out with the water of the conviction that brings the curse.

‘Then the priest must write [with ink] on a small scroll these (curses/bad things that will happen to her if she is guilty) [and then wash the ink off into the bitter water].

24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the water of the conviction that brings the curse; and the water of the conviction that brings the curse shall enter into her.

The priest must take from her the offering of barley flour [that she is holding], and lift it up to dedicate it to me. Then he must put it on the altar

25 And the priest shall take from the hand of the woman the sacrifice of jealousy, and shall present the sacrifice before the Lord, and shall bring it to the altar.

26 And the priest shall take a handful of the sacrifice as a memorial of it, and shall offer it up upon the altar; and afterwards he shall cause the woman to drink the water.

and burn part of it as a sacrifice. Then the woman must drink the bitter water.

27 And it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have altogether escaped the notice of her husband, then the water of the conviction that brings the curse shall enter into her; and she shall swell in her belly, and her thigh shall rot, and the woman shall be for a curse in the midst of her people.

If the woman has committed adultery, the water will cause her to suffer greatly. Her stomach will swell up and her womb will shrink, [and she will be unable to give birth to children]. And then her (relatives/fellow Israelis) will curse her.

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

But if she (is innocent/has not committed adultery), her body will not be harmed, and she will still be able to give birth to children.

29 This is the law of jealousy, wherein a married woman should happen to transgress, and be defiled;

‘That is the ritual that must be performed when a woman who is married has been unfaithful to her husband,

30 or in the case of a man on whomsoever the spirit of jealousy should come, and he should be jealous of his wife, and he should place his wife before the Lord, and the priest shall execute towards her all this law.

or when a man is jealous and suspects that his wife [has had sex with another man]. The priest must tell that woman to stand [at the altar] in my presence and obey these instructions.

31 Then the man shall be clear from sin, and that woman shall bear her sin.

Even if the woman has not done what the husband suspected, he will not be punished [MTY] for doing something wrong [by bringing his wife to the priest]. But if his wife is guilty, she will suffer as a result.’”