Numbers 5:13

Numbers 5:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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, neither she be taken with the manner;
• New International Version (NIV)so that another man has sexual relations with her, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act),
• English Standard Version (ESV)if a man lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not taken in the act,
• New King James Version (NKJV)and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught—

Context of Numbers 5:13

11Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray (deviates) and is unfaithful to him, and a man is intimate with her, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and it is kept secret, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, 14and if a spirit (sense, attitude) of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous and angry at his wife who has defiled herself—or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself— 15then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring as an offering for her, a tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it [the symbols of favor and joy], because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a memorial grain offering, a reminder of [the consequences of] wickedness.

Numbers 5:13 word by word

וְשָׁכַ֨ב אִ֣ישׁ אֹתָהּ֮ שִׁכְבַת־זֶרַע֒ וְנֶעְלַם֙ מֵעֵינֵ֣י אִישָׁ֔הּ וְנִסְתְּרָ֖ה וְהִ֣יא נִטְמָ֑אָה וְעֵד֙ אֵ֣ין בָּ֔הּ וְהִ֖וא לֹ֥א נִתְפָּֽשָׂה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And a manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
• lieשָׁכַבshâkab · to lie down: have sexH7901
• with her carnallyזֶ֫רַעzera‛ · seed: semenH2233
• with her carnallyשְׁכָבָהshekâbâh · semenH7902
• and it be hidעָלַם‛âlam · to concealH5956
• from the eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• of her husbandאִישׁ'îysh · man: husbandH376
• and be kept closeסָתַרsâthar · to hideH5641
• and she be defiledטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• no witnessעֵד‛êd · witnessH5707
• against her, neither she be takenתָּפַשׂtâphaώ · to captureH8610

Cross-references for Numbers 5:13

• Leviticus 18:20You shall not have intimate relations with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her.
• Leviticus 20:10‘The man who commits adultery with another’s wife, even his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall most certainly be put to death.
• Proverbs 7:18Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; Let us console and delight ourselves with love.
• Proverbs 30:20This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth And says, “I have done no wrong.”

Commentaries on Numbers 5:13

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11-31Verses 11-31 The trial of jealousy. Since the crime of adultery is especially defiling and destructive of the very foundations of social order, the whole subject is dealt with at a length proportionate to its importance. The process prescribed has lately been strikingly illustrated from an Egyptian “romance,” which refers to the time of Rameses the Great, and may therefore well serve to illustrate the manners and customs of the Mosaic times. This mode of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-31Verses 11-31 This law would make the women of Israel watch against giving cause for suspicion. On the other hand, it would hinder the cruel treatment such suspicions might occasion. It would also hinder the guilty from escaping, and the innocent from coming under just suspicion. When no proof could be brought, the wife was called on to make this solemn appeal to a heart-searching God. No woman, if she were guilty, could say "Amen" to the adjuration, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-31This detailed test for adultery, a "trial by ordeal," is the only one in the Old Testament. Yet, trial by ordeal was common in the ancient Near East. God had a special interest in protecting marriage. It was the foundation of Hebrew society. The ordeal was intended to promote marital faithfulness. We do not know how often such ordeals actually happened. This procedure relied on God to intervene so that justice occurred when evidence was lacking (see 1…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-3112-15. if any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him--This law was given both as a strong discouragement to conjugal infidelity on the part of a wife, and a sufficient protection of her from the consequences of a hasty and groundless suspicion on the part of the husband. His suspicions, however, were sufficient in the absence of witnesses (Le 20:10) to warrant the trial described; and the course of proceeding to be followed was for the…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 5:13

• Adultery
• Husband
• Jealousy
• Self-Incrimination
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Adultery
• Close
• Conceive
• Cross
• Curse
• Jealousy offering
• Jealousy, Waters of
• Recompense
• Sinai
• Water of jealousy

Commentaries on Numbers 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary