Numbers 5

Unclean People

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Command the people of Israel that they i put out of the camp everyone who is leprous 1 or has j a discharge and everyone who is k unclean through contact with the dead. 3 You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, l in the midst of which I dwell." 4 And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 "Speak to the people of Israel, m When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, 7 n he shall confess his sin that he has committed. 2 o And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. 8 But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to p the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 And q every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10 Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his."

A Test for Adultery

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 "Speak to the people of Israel, If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, 13 if a man r lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, s since she was not taken in the act, 14 and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah 3 of barley flour. t He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, u bringing iniquity to remembrance.

16 "And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord. 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and v unbind the hair of the woman's head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. 19 Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband's authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, 21 then' (let the priest make the woman take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) w 'the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your body swell. 22 May this water that brings the curse x pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.' And the woman shall say, y 'Amen, Amen.'

23 "Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. 25 And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand z and shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar. 26 And the priest a shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27 And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman b shall become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.

29 "This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, c though under her husband's authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. 31 The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman d shall bear her iniquity."

  1. Cross References
    Numbers 12:14
    But the Lord said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.
    Leviticus 13:46
    He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.
  2. Cross References
    Leviticus 15:2
    Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any man has a discharge from his body, his discharge is unclean.
  3. Cross References
    Numbers 9:6
    And there were certain men who were unclean thr...
    Numbers 9:10
    Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any o...
    Numbers 19:11
    Whoever touches the dead body of any person sha...
    Numbers 19:13
    Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyo...
    Numbers 31:19
    Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of ...
    Leviticus 21:1
    And the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the pries...
    Haggai 2:13
    Then Haggai said, "If someone who is unclean by...
  4. Cross References
    Leviticus 26:11 - 12
    I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you.
  5. Cross References
    Leviticus 6:2 - 3
    If anyone sins and commits a breach of faith against the Lord by deceiving his neighbor in a matter of deposit or security, or through robbery, or if he has oppressed his neighbor
  6. Cross References
    Leviticus 5:5
    When he realizes his guilt in any of these and confesses the sin he has committed.
    Leviticus 26:40
    But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me.
    Joshua 7:19
    Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.
  7. Cross References
    Leviticus 6:5
    Or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.
  8. Cross References
    Leviticus 6:6 - 7
    And he shall bring to the priest as his compensation to the Lord a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering.
  9. Cross References
    Numbers 18:19
    All the holy contributions that the people of I...
    Exodus 29:28
    It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a perpetu...
    Leviticus 6:17 - 18
    It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given...
    Leviticus 7:6 - 7
    Every male among the priests may eat of it. It ...
    Leviticus 7:9 - 10
    And every grain offering baked in the oven and ...
    Leviticus 7:14
    And from it he shall offer one loaf from each o...
    Deuteronomy 18:3 - 4
    And this shall be the priests' due from the peo...
  10. Cross References
    Leviticus 18:20
    And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her.
  11. Cross References
    John 8:4
    They said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.
  12. Cross References
    Leviticus 2:1
    When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it
    Leviticus 2:15
    And you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering.
    Leviticus 5:11
    But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for the sin that he has committed a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering. He shall put no oil on it and shall put no frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.
  13. Cross References
    1 Kings 17:18
    And she said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!
    Ezekiel 29:16
    And it shall never again be the reliance of the house of Israel, recalling their iniquity, when they turn to them for aid. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
  14. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 11:5 - 7
    But every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:22
    Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: "The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire.
  16. Cross References
    Psalms 109:18
    He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!
  17. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 27:15 - 26
    "'Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.' And all the people shall answer and say, 'Amen.'
  18. Cross References
    Leviticus 8:27
    And he put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons and waved them as a wave offering before the Lord.
  19. Cross References
    Leviticus 2:2
    And bring it to Aaron's sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
    Leviticus 2:9
    And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
    Leviticus 5:12
    And he shall bring it to the priest, and the priest shall take a handful of it as its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, on the Lord 's food offerings; it is a sin offering.
  20. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:37
    And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a...
    Jeremiah 24:9
    I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms o...
    Jeremiah 29:18
    I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pest...
    Jeremiah 29:22
    Because of them this curse shall be used by all...
    Jeremiah 42:18
    For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Isr...
    Jeremiah 44:12
    I will take the remnant of Judah who have set t...
    Zechariah 8:13
    And as you have been a byword of cursing among ...
  21. Cross References
    Numbers 5:19 - 20
    Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse.
  22. Cross References
    Leviticus 20:17
    If a man takes his sister, a daughter of his father or a daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace, and they shall be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has uncovered his sister's nakedness, and he shall bear his iniquity.
    Leviticus 20:19 - 20
    You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister or of your father's sister, for that is to make naked one's relative; they shall bear their iniquity.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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