The Fourth Book of Moses: Numbers

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 5 -

(Leviticus 13:1–46)

Then the LORD said to Moses,

“Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone with a skin disease,(a) anyone who has a bodily discharge, and anyone who is defiled by a dead body.

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.”

So the Israelites did this, sending such people outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.

Restitution for Trespasses

(Luke 19:1–10)

And the LORD said to Moses,

“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty

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.

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.

Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him.

Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.”

The Adultery Test

Then the LORD said to Moses,

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him

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),

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—

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.(b) 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.

The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD.

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.

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.

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.

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’—

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.’

And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.

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.

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.

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.

But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children.

This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,

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.

The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

Footnotes

(a)5:2 Forms of the Hebrew tzaraath, traditionally translated as leprosy, were used for various skin diseases; see Leviticus 13.

(b)5:15 A tenth of an ephah is approximately 2 dry quarts or 2.2 liters (probably about 3.5 pounds or 1.6 kilograms of barley flour).

(Leviticus 13:1–46)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever is unclean by a corpse.

You shall put both male and female outside of the camp so that they don’t defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.”

The children of Israel did so, and put them outside of the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

Restitution for Trespasses

(Luke 19:1–10)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against the LORD, and that soul is guilty,

then he shall confess his sin which he has done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty.

But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to the LORD shall be the priest’s, in addition to the ram of the atonement, by which atonement shall be made for him.

Every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present to the priest, shall be his.

Every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest, it shall be his.’”

The Adultery Test

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him,

and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and this is kept concealed, and she is defiled, there is no witness against her, and she isn’t taken in the act;

and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife and she is defiled; or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife and she isn’t defiled;

then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: one tenth of an ephah(a) of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory.

The priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD.

The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and the priest shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.

The priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse.

The priest shall cause her to take an oath and shall tell the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you haven’t gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.

But if you have gone astray, being under your husband’s authority, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband—”

then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall tell the woman, “May The LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD allows your thigh to fall away, and your body to swell;

and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.” The woman shall say, “Amen, Amen.”

“‘The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall wipe them into the water of bitterness.

He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.

The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.

The priest shall take a handful of the meal offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.

When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse among her people.

If the woman isn’t defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive offspring.(b)

“‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled,

or when the spirit of jealousy comes on a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute on her all this law.

The man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.’”

Footnotes

(a)5:15 1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel

(b)5:28 or, seed