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And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Command the Bnei Yisroel, that they put out of the machaneh every tzaru’a, and every one that hath a discharge, and whosoever is tameh lanefesh (unclean, defiled by reason of contact with a corpse),

Both zakhar and nekevah shall ye put out, without the machaneh shall ye put them; that they defile not their machanot, in the midst whereof I dwell.

And the Bnei Yisroel did so, and put them outside the machaneh; just as Hashem spoke unto Moshe, so did the Bnei Yisroel.

And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, When a man or woman shall commit any chattot that men commit, l’me’ol ma’al baHashem (thereby trespassing against Hashem), and feels guilty;

Then they shall make vidduy (confession of sin) of their chattot which they have committed; and shall make reparation in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom they hath incurred liability.

But if the man have no go’el unto whom reparation for the asham can be made, let the asham be recompensed unto Hashem, even to the kohen, besides the ram of the kippurim, whereby a kapparah shall be made on his behalf.

And every terumah of all the holy things of the Bnei Yisroel, which they bring unto the kohen, shall be his.

10 And every man’s things set apart as kodesh shall be his; whatsoever any man giveth the kohen, it shall be his.

11 And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

12 Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, and say unto them, If any man’s isha go aside, and commit a trespass [i.e., is unfaithful] against him,

13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her ish, and she become tameh secretly, and there be no ed (witness) against her, neither she be caught;

14 And a ruach kina (spirit of jealousy) come upon him, and he be jealous of his isha, and she be tameh; or if a ruach kina come upon him, and he be jealous of his isha, and she be not tameh;

15 Then shall the ish bring his isha unto the kohen, and he shall bring her korban for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no shemen upon it, nor put incense thereon; for it is a minchat kinot (grain offering of jealousies), a minchat zekaron (grain offering of memorial), bringing avon to remembrance.

16 And the kohen shall bring her near, and set her before Hashem;

17 And the kohen shall take mayim kedoshim in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the Mishkan the kohen shall take, and put it into the mayim;

18 And the kohen shall set the isha before Hashem, and unbind the hair of the isha, and put the minchat zekaron in her hands, which is the minchat kena’ot; and the kohen shall have in his hand the mei hamarim hame’ararim (waters of bitterness that causeth the curse);

19 And the kohen shall put her under oath, and say unto the isha, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not turned astray to tum’a (uncleanness, impurity) with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from these mei hamarim hame’ararim;

20 But if thou hast turned astray to another instead of thy ish, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee other than thine ish;

21 Then the kohen shall put the isha under oath with the oath of the curse, and the kohen shall say unto the isha, Hashem make thee an alah (curse) and a shevu’ah (oath) among thy people, when Hashem doth make thy thigh to waste away, and thy belly to swell;

22 And this mayim that causeth the curse shall go into thy inner parts, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to waste away; And the isha shall say, Omen, Omen.

23 And the kohen shall write these alot (curses) on a sefer, and he shall wash them into the mei hamarim;

24 And he shall cause the isha to drink the mei hamarim hame’ararim; and the mayim hame’ararim shall enter into her, and become bitter.

25 Then the kohen shall take the minchat hakena’ot out of the yad haisha, and shall wave the minchah before Hashem, and offer it upon the Mizbe’ach:

26 And the kohen shall take a handful of the minchah, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the Mizbe’ach, and afterward shall cause the isha to drink the mayim.

27 And when he hath made her to drink the mayim, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass [i.e., been unfaithful] against her ish, that the mayim hame’ararim shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall waste away; and the isha shall become a curse among her people.

28 And if the isha be not defiled, but be tehorah (clean); then she shall be free, and shall conceive zera.

29 This is the torat hakena’ot (law of jealousy), when an isha goeth astray to another instead of her ish, and is defiled;

30 Or when the ruach kinah cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his isha, and shall set the isha before Hashem, and the kohen shall execute upon her all this torah.

31 Then shall the ish be free from guilt from avon, and this isha shall bear her avon.

The Purity of the Camp

The Lord said to Moses, “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) Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.(E) The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the Lord had instructed Moses.

Restitution for Wrongs

The Lord said to Moses, “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) 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. 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) 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