Numbers 5
The Lord instructs Moses to have the Israelites expel from their camp anyone who is unclean, including lepers and those who have been polluted by the dead. If someone has sinned, they must confess and make restitution, adding a fifth of the value to the amount owed. The Lord also gives instructions for dealing with a wife suspected of adultery, where the husband brings her to the priest, who administers a test using bitter waters to determine her guilt or innocence. If she is guilty, she will suffer physical consequences, but if innocent, she will be unharmed and able to bear children.
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying2"Instruct the sons of Israel to cast out of the camp every leper, and those who have a flow of seed, and those who have been polluted because of the dead3cast out of the camp both male and female, lest they contaminate it while I am dwelling with you.4And the sons of Israel did so, and they cast them out, beyond the camp, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses5And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying6"Say to the sons of Israel: A man or a woman, when they have done anything out of all the sins that often befall men, or if, by negligence, they have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and so have committed an offense7they shall confess their sin, and they shall restore the principle itself, plus a fifth part above it, to any against whom they have sinned8But if there would be no one to receive it, they shall give it to the Lord, and it shall be for the priest, except for the ram, which is offered for expiation, in order to be a pleasing victim9Likewise, all the first-fruits, which the sons of Israel offer, belong to the priest10with whatever is offered by each one at the Sanctuary, and which is delivered into the hands of the priest; it shall be his.11And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying12"Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: The man whose wife will have gone astray, and, disdaining her husband13will have slept with another man, and if her husband cannot discover it, but the adultery is secret, and if it cannot be proved by witnesses, because she was not caught in the shameful act14if the spirit of jealousy stirs up the husband against his wife, who either has been polluted or is being assailed with a false suspicion15he shall bring her to the priest, and he shall offer an oblation for her, a tenth part of native barley meal. He shall not pour oil over it, nor shall he place frankincense on it, because it is a sacrifice for jealousy, or an oblation investigating adultery16Therefore, the priest shall offer it, and he shall set it in the sight of the Lord17And he shall take up holy water in an earthen vessel, and he shall cast a little earth from the pavement of the tabernacle into it18And while the woman stands before the Lord, he shall uncover her head, and he shall place over her hands the sacrifice of recollection and oblation of jealousy. But he shall take hold of the most bitter waters, in which he has gathered curses with loathing19And he shall bind her by an oath, and he shall say: ‘If another man has not slept with you, and if you have not been polluted by forsaking the bed of your husband, these most bitter waters, into which I have gathered curses, shall not harm you20But if you have turned away from your husband, and also have been defiled, and have lain together with another man21these curses shall be thrown upon you: May the Lord turn you into a curse and an example among all his people. May he cause your thigh to rot, and may your abdomen swell up and burst out22May the cursed waters enter into your stomach, and may your womb swell and your thigh rot.’ And the woman shall respond: ‘Amen, amen.23And the priest shall write these curses in a little book, and then he shall erase them with the very bitter waters, into which he had gathered the curses24and he shall give it to her to drink. And when she has emptied it25the priest shall take from her hand the sacrifice of jealousy, and he shall elevate it before the Lord, and he shall impose it upon the altar. Yet only after he firs26takes a handful of the sacrifice from that which is offered, and burns it upon the altar, and then he may give the most bitter waters to the woman as a drink27And when she drinks it, if she has been defiled, and, having despised her husband, is guilty of adultery, the curse shall pass through her, and as her belly swells up, her thigh shall decay, and the woman shall become a curse and an example to all the people28But if she has not been defiled, she shall be unharmed and she shall bear children29This is the law for jealousy. If a woman has turned aside from her husband, and if she has been polluted30and if the husband, being stirred up by the spirit of jealousy, has brought her before the sight of the Lord, and the priest has acted toward her according to all that has been written31then the husband shall be without guilt, and she shall bear her iniquity.
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