Numbers 5

1 And the LORD spoke to 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 whoever is defiled 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, outside the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst of which 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 outside the camp: as the LORD spoke to 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 the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

6 Speak to the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person 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 they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal of it, and add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him against whom he hath trespassed.

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 shall have no kinsman to recompense the trespass to, let the trespass be recompensed to the LORD, even to the priest; besides the ram of the atonement, by which an 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 offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to 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: whatever any man giveth to 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 the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

The Lord told Moses,

12 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man’s wife shall go astray, 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 shall lie with her carnally, and it shall be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept secret, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;

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 shall come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy shall 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 to the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense on it; for it is an offering of jealousy, an 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 the LORD:

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 the LORD, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water 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 charge her by an oath, and say to the woman, If no man hath lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water 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 hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou art defiled, and some man hath 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 charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say to the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to perish, and thy belly 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, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to perish: 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 with the bitter water:

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

24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water 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 Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon 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 an handful of the offering, even the memorial of it, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to 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 to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she is defiled, and hath done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall perish: 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 is not defiled, but is 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 jealousies, when a wife goeth astray to another instead of her husband, 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 him, and he is jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, 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 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this 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.