Numbers

יהוה spoke to Moses, saying:

Instruct the Israelites to remove from camp anyone with an eruption or a discharge an eruption or a discharge See Leviticus chapters 13 and 15, respectively. and anyone defiled by a corpse.

Remove male and female alike; put them outside the camp so that they do not defile the camp of those in whose midst I dwell.

The Israelites did so, putting them outside the camp; as יהוה had spoken to Moses, so the Israelites did.

יהוה spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to the Israelites: When men or women individually commit any wrong toward a fellow human being, thus breaking faith with יהוה, and they realize their guilt,

they shall confess the wrong that they have done. They shall make restitution in the principal amount and add one-fifth to it, giving it to the one who was wronged.

If that party [is deceased and] has no kin ” to whom restitution can be made, the amount repaid shall go to יהוה for the priest—in addition to the ram of expiation with which expiation is made on their behalf. in addition to … on their behalf Cf. Lev. 5.15 f.

So, too, any gift among the sacred donations that the Israelites offer shall be the priest’s.

And each shall retain his sacred donations: each priest shall keep what is given to him.

יהוה spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: Any party whose wife has gone astray and broken faith with him,

in that another man ” See the Dictionary under ’ish. has had carnal relations with her unbeknown to her husband, and she keeps secret the fact that she has defiled herself without being forced, and there is no witness against her,

but a fit of jealousy comes over him and he is wrought up about the wife who has defiled herself—or if a fit of jealousy comes over him and he is wrought up about his wife although she has not defiled herself—

that party shall bring his wife to the priest. And he shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley flour. No oil shall be poured upon it and no frankincense shall be laid on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of remembrance which recalls wrongdoing.

The priest shall bring her forward and have her stand before יהוה.

The priest shall take sacral water in an earthen vessel and, taking some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tabernacle, the priest shall put it into the water.

After he has made the woman Labeling her as “woman” in this passage means that she is construed mainly as a party to the proceeding, rather than as her husband’s wife. See the Dictionary under ’ish. stand before יהוה, the priest shall bare the woman’s head bare the woman’s head Or “dishevel the woman’s hair”; cf. Lev. 10.6. and place upon her hands the meal offering of remem

The priest shall adjure the woman, saying to her, “If no other party has lain with you, if you have not gone astray in defilement while living in your husband’s household, living in your husband’s household More precisely, “under [the jurisdiction of] your [marriage] partner.” NJPS “while married to your husband.” See the Dictionary under “householder,” “marriage,” and ’ish. be immune to harm from this water of bitterness that induces the spell.

But if you have gone astray while living in your husband’s household living in your husband’s household See note at v. 19. and have defiled yourself, if any party other than your husband has had carnal relations with you”—

here the priest shall administer the curse of adjuration to the woman, as the priest goes on to say to the woman—“may יהוה make you a curse and an imprecation among your people, as יהוה causes your thigh to sag and your belly to distend; distend Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

may this water that induces the spell enter your body, causing the belly to distend and the thigh to sag.” And the woman shall say, “Amen, amen!”

The priest shall put these curses down in writing and rub it off into the water of bitterness.

He is to make the woman drink the water of bitterness that induces the spell, so that the spell-inducing water may enter into her to bring on bitterness.

Then the priest shall take from the woman’s hand the meal offering of jealousy, elevate the meal offering before יהוה, and present it on the altar.

The priest shall scoop out of the meal offering a token part of it and turn it into smoke on the altar. Last, he shall make the woman drink the water.

Once he has made her drink the water—if she has defiled herself by breaking faith with her husband, the spell-inducing water shall enter into her to bring on bitterness, so that her belly shall distend and her thigh shall sag; and the wife shall become a curse among her people.

But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she shall be unharmed and able to retain seed.

This is the ritual in cases of jealousy, when a woman goes astray while living in her husband’s household, living in her husband’s household Cf. note at v. 19. and defiles herself,

or when a fit of jealousy comes over a husband and he is wrought up over his wife: the woman shall be made to stand before יהוה and the priest shall carry out all this ritual with her.

The man man More precisely, the “party” who initiated the proceeding (v. 15). See the Dictionary under ’ish. shall be clear of guilt; but that woman that woman I.e., the guilty one in the initial case. See the first note at v. 18. shall suffer for her guilt.