Numbers 5

1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

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

“Order the Israelites to expel from the camp anyone who has a skin disease, or who has a discharge, or who is unclean from touching a dead body.

3 both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camp, in the midst whereof I dwell.

Whether male or female, you must expel them so they won't make their camp unclean, for that is where I live with them.”

4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp; as Jehovah spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.

The Israelites followed these instructions, and expelled such people from the camp. They did what the Lord had told Moses they should do.

5 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against Jehovah, and that soul shall be guilty;

“Tell the Israelites that when a man or woman is unfaithful to the Lord by sinning against someone else, they are guilty

7 then he shall confess his sin which he hath done: and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him in respect of whom he hath been guilty.

and must confess their sin. They have to pay the full amount of compensation plus one fifth of its value, and give this to the person they have wronged.

8 But if the man have no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made unto Jehovah shall be the priest’s; besides the ram of the atonement, whereby atonement shall be made for him.

However, if that person doesn't have a relative who can be paid the compensation, it belongs to the Lord and shall be given to the priest, together with a sacrificial ram by which the guilty person is set right.

9 And every heave-offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present unto the priest, shall be his.

All holy offerings that the Israelites bring to the priest belong to him.

10 And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.

Your holy offerings belong to you, but once you give them to the priest they belong to him.”

11 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,

“Tell the Israelites that these are the instructions to follow if a man's wife has an affair, being unfaithful to him

13 and a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, and she be not taken in the act;

by sleeping with someone else. It may be that her husband doesn't find out and her unclean act wasn't witnessed—she wasn't caught out.

14 and the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

But if her husband becomes jealous and suspicious of his wife, whether she's guilty or not,

15 then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and shall bring her oblation for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is a meal-offering of jealousy, a meal-offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

he is to take her before the priest. He is also to take with him on her behalf an offering of one tenth of an ephath of barley flour. He must also bring for her an offering of an ephah of barley flour. He's not to pour olive oil over it or put frankincense on it, since it's a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder offering to remind people about sin.

16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before Jehovah:

The priest is to lead the wife forward and have her stand before the Lord.

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.

Then he shall fill a clay jar with holy water in a clay jar and sprinkle on it some dust from the floor of the Tabernacle.

18 And the priest shall set the woman before Jehovah, 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: and the priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that causeth the curse.

Once the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall let her hair loose and have her hold the reminder grain offering—the grain offering used in cases of jealousy. The priest shall hold the bitter water that curses.

19 And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou have not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse.

He shall place the woman under oath and tell her, ‘If no one else has slept with you and you have not been unfaithful and become unclean while married to your husband, may you not be harmed by this bitter water that curses.

20 But if thou have gone aside, being under thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee besides thy husband:

But if you have been unfaithful while married to your husband and have become unclean and have had sex with someone else…”

21 then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to fall away, and thy body to swell;

(Here the priest shall place the woman under the oath of the curse as follows.) “May the Lord place a curse on you that everyone knows about by having your thighs shrink and your belly swell up.

22 and this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, and make thy body to swell, and thy thigh to fall away. And the woman shall say, Amen, Amen.

May this water that curses go into your stomach and make your belly swell up and your thighs shrink.” The woman is to answer, “I agree, I agree.”

23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness:

The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water.

24 and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causeth the curse; and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her [and become] bitter.

He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that curses, and it will cause her bitter pain if she is guilty.

25 And the priest shall take the meal-offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal-offering before Jehovah, and bring it unto the altar:

The priest shall take back from her the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lord, and take it to the altar.

26 and the priest shall take a handful of the meal-offering, as the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.

Then the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as a reminder portion and burn it on the altar, and make the woman drink the water.

27 And when he hath made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her [and become] bitter, and her body shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.

After he has made her drink the water, if she has made herself unclean and has been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that curses will cause her bitter pain. Her belly will swell up and her thighs will shrink. She will become a cursed woman among her people.

28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.

But if the woman has not made herself unclean by being unfaithful and is clean, she will not experience this punishment and she will still be able to have children.

29 This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goeth aside, and is defiled;

This is the rule to follow in cases of jealousy when a wife has an affair and makes herself unclean while married to her husband,

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

or when a husband starts feeling jealous and becomes suspicious of his wife. He shall have his wife stand before the Lord, and the priest is to carry out every part of this rule.

31 And the man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.

If she is found guilty, her husband will not be held responsible. But the woman will bear the consequences of her sin.