Numbers 5

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Yahweh said to Moses/me,

2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whoever is defiled by the dead:

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

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 put them out outside the camp: as the LORD spoke 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, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person shall be guilty;

“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 Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal of it, and add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him against whom he hath 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 the man shall have no kinsman to recompense the trespass to, let the trespass be recompensed to the LORD, even to the priest; besides the ram of the atonement, by which an atonement shall be made 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 offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his.

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

10 And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatever any man giveth to the priest, it 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 say to them, If any man’s wife shall go astray, and commit a trespass against him,

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

13 And a man shall lie with her carnally, and it shall be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept secret, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;

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

14 And the spirit of jealousy shall come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy shall come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not 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 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 on it; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity 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 near, and set her 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 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:

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 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:

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 charge her by an oath, and say to the woman, If no man hath 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:

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 thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou art defiled, and some man hath lain with thee besides thy husband:

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

21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say to the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to perish, 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 that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to perish: 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:

‘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 bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.

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 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 of it, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward 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 when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she is defiled, and hath 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 perish: and the woman shall be a curse among 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 And if the woman is not defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, 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 jealousies, when a wife goeth astray to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;

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

30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he is jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon 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 shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

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.’”