Numbers 5
1 Yahweh said to Moses/me,
Then the LORD said to Moses,
2 “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.
“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease, anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body.
3 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.’”
You must send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.”
4 So [Moses/I told that to the Israeli people, and] the Israeli people obeyed what Yahweh commanded Moses/me.
So the Israelites did this, sending such people outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.
5 Yahweh also told Moses/me,
And the LORD said to Moses,
6 “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.
“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty
7 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.
and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution, add a fifth to its value, and give all this to the one he has wronged.
8 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).
But if the man has no 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 of atonement, by which the atonement is made for him.
9 All the sacred offerings that the Israelis bring to the priest belong to the priest.
Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him.
10 The priest can keep those gifts.’”
Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.”
11 Yahweh also said this to Moses/me:
Then the LORD said to Moses,
12 “Tell this to the Israeli people: ‘Suppose a man thinks that his wife has slept with another man,
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him
13 but neither he nor anyone else knows if it is true or not, because no one saw her doing that.
by sleeping with another man, and it is concealed from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she was not caught in the act),
14 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,
and if a feeling of jealousy comes over her husband and he suspects his wife who has defiled herself—or if a feeling of jealousy comes over him and he suspects her even though she has not defiled herself—
15 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.]
then he is to bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity.
16 The priest must tell the woman to stand [in front of the altar] in my presence.
The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD.
17 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.
Then he is to take some holy water in a clay jar and put some of the dust from the tabernacle floor into the water.
18 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].
After the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse.
19 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.
And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse.
20 But if you have had sex with another man, [Yahweh will curse you].
But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’—
21 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.”
and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell.
May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’
23 ‘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].
And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.
24 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
He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause her bitter suffering.
The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.
26 and burn part of it as a sacrifice. Then the woman must drink the bitter water.
Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water.
27 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.
When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people.
28 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.
But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children.
29 ‘That is the ritual that must be performed when a woman who is married has been unfaithful to her husband,
This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,
30 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.
or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law.
31 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.’”
The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”
