Numbers 5 (ARST)

1Yahweh said to Moses,Then the LORD said to Moses,

2“Order the Israelites to remove the following people from the campgrounds: every person with a skin disease that can spread from one person to another, every person whose body discharges bodily fluid, and every person who is defiled because of dead body.“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.

3You shall certainly remove both male and female Israelites from the campground so that they do not profane the camp, the place where I am among them.”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.”

4The Israelites obeyed and removed those who had conditions from the campgrounds. So, the Israelites did exactly what Yahweh said to Moses.So the Israelites did this, sending such people outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.

5Yahweh said to Moses,And the LORD said to Moses,

6“Say this to the Israelites:‘When any person is unfaithful to Yahweh and does anything contrary to his commands, that person is guilty.“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman acts unfaithfully against the LORD by committing any sin against another, that person is guilty

7The guilty person shall confess his sin which he did. Then he shall pay the one against whom he sinned the full price of his sin in addition to one fifth of the full price.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.

8If there is not one whom the guilty person can pay for his sin, the guilty person will give the payment to Yahweh by giving it to the priest. In addition to this payment, the guilty person must also give a ram, which the priest shall sacrifice in order to atone 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.

9Every payment the Israelites give to the priest, all{ of which shall be} holy, shall belong to the priest.Every sacred contribution the Israelites bring to the priest shall belong to him.

10Every payment a man gives shall belong to the priest.{ Again,} whatever a man gives to the priest shall belong to the priest.’”Each man’s sacred gifts are his own, but whatever he gives to the priest will belong to the priest.”

11Yahweh said to Moses,Then the LORD said to Moses,

12“Say this to the Israelites:‘If a man’ s wife behaves unfaithfully toward her husband by having sexual relations with another man“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him

13which her husband and no other person witnesses, which they then keep a secret from everyone so that the Israelites do not discover her sin, she is profaned.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{ If} a man develops jealous feelings and suspects his wife of sexual unfaithfulness and she has profaned herself{ sexually}, or if a man develops jealous feelings and suspects his wife of sexual unfaithfulness and she has not profaned herself{ sexually},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—

15this man shall lead his wife to the priest. He shall also bring one tenth an ephah of barley flour without pouring oil on it or placing frankincense on it, because this offering is a grain offering presented when a man is suspicious of his wife. This grain offering is{ to pray that Yahweh would} remember the sin.’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.

16The priest shall call her to himself and{ order} her to stand in front of Yahweh.The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD.

17The priest shall pick up the clay jar with holy water{ in it}, pick up dust from the ground of the sacred tent, and he shall mix{ the dust with the} holy water{ in the clay jar}.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.

18The priest shall{ order} the woman to stand in front of Yahweh, unbind the hair of the woman, and place in her hand the grain offering{ to pray that God} remembers, which is the grain offering presented when a man suspects his wife of sexual unfaithfulness. The priest shall hold the water mixture in his hand, by which{ Yahweh} will curse{ the woman with a} bitter{ life}.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.

19The priest shall order the wife to swear, and he shall say to the woman,“{ Yahweh will not} curse{ you with a} bitter{ life with} this water mixture if you have not committed adultery nor defiled your{ moral} cleanliness while married to your husband.”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.

20The priest shall order the woman to swear the oath{ where she accepts Yahweh’ s} curse. The priest shall say to the woman,“However, if you have defiled{ yourself sexually} while married to your husband and{ if you} have profaned{ yourself sexually} by having a man who is not your husband commit adultery with you, Yahweh will curse you and make you an example in the midst of your people by preventing your body from bearing children.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’—

22{ Yahweh will} curse{ you with} this water when it enters your stomach. It will prevent your body from bearing children.” The woman shall say,“I agree completely.”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.’

23The priest shall write{ the words of} these curses on a scroll, and he shall wash the ink into the water by which{ Yahweh will make her life} bitter.And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.

24Then, he shall order the woman to drink the water by which{ Yahweh will} curse{ her by making her life} bitter. She shall swallow the water by which{ Yahweh will} curse{ her}.He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and may cause her bitter suffering.

25The priest shall take from the woman’ s hand the grain offering presented when a man is suspicious of his wife. He shall bring the grain offering close to the altar and dedicate it to Yahweh.The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.

26The priest shall take a handful of the grain offering and shall{ throw it} in the altar to burn it. Then, he shall order the woman to drink the 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.

27He shall order the woman to drink the water. When the woman swallows the water by which{ Yahweh curses a person with a} bitter{ life}, her body will be unable to bear children, and she will become a curse in the midst of her people if she has profaned{ herself sexually}, behaving unfaithfully toward her husband.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.

28However, if she has not profaned{ herself sexually}, she is{ sexually} pure, will be free{ from guilt}, and will be able to bear children.But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children.

29These instructions are the statute of a jealous spirit: when a woman is{ sexually} unfaithful to her husband and profaned,This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,

30or when a man develops jealous feelings and suspects his wife{ of sexual unfaithfulness}, the husband shall lead his wife before Yahweh, and the priest shall do to the wife everything{ described in} this statute.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.

31Then, the man will be{ morally} free from sin, and his wife will be{ morally} guilty.’”The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

Numbers 5

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Numbers 5

You’ve read Numbers 5

Go Deeper