Numbers 5:22

Numbers 5:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.
• New International Version (NIV)May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.” “ ‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.' And the woman shall say, 'Amen, Amen.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.” ‘Then the woman shall say, “Amen, so be it.”

Context of Numbers 5:22

20but if you have gone astray [while married] and you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has been intimate with you” 21(then the priest shall have the woman swear the oath of the curse, and say to the woman), “The Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people when the Lord makes your thigh waste away and your abdomen swell; and this water that brings a curse shall go into your stomach, and make your abdomen swell and your thigh waste away.” And the woman shall say, “Amen. Amen (so let it be).” 23‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll and shall wash them off into the water of bitterness; 24and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse will go into her and cause bitterness.

Numbers 5:22 word by word

וּ֠בָאוּ הַמַּ֨יִם הַמְאָרְרִ֤ים הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ בְּֽמֵעַ֔יִךְ לַצְבּ֥וֹת בֶּ֖טֶן וְלַנְפִּ֣ל יָרֵ֑ךְ וְאָמְרָ֥ה הָאִשָּׁ֖ה אָמֵ֥ן׀ אָמֵֽן׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And this waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• that causeth the curseאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
• shall goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• into thy bowelsמֵעֶהmê‛eh · bellyH4578
• bellyבֶּ֫טֶןbeţen · belly: wombH990
• to swellצָבָהtsâbâh · to swellH6638
• thighיָרֵךְyârêk · thighH3409
• to rotנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• And the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• shall sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Amenאָמֵן'âmên · amenH543

Cross-references for Numbers 5:22

• Numbers 5:27When he has made her drink the water, then it shall come about, that if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, the curse water will go into her and cause bitterness and cause her abdomen to swell and her thigh to waste away, and the woman will become a curse among her people.
• Psalms 109:18He clothed himself with cursing as with his garment, And it seeped into his inner self like water And like [anointing] oil into his bones.
• Proverbs 1:31Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own [wicked] way And be satiated with [the penalty of] their own devices.
• Ezekiel 3:3He said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll that I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
• Deuteronomy 27:15‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved or cast image (idol), a repulsive thing to the Lord, the work of the hands of the artisan, and sets it up in secret.’ All the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’
• Job 31:21If I have lifted my hand against the orphan, Because I saw [that the judges would be] my help at the [council] gate,
• Psalms 7:4If I have done evil to him who was at peace with me, Or without cause robbed him who was my enemy,
• Psalms 41:13Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, From everlasting to everlasting [from this age to the next, and forever]. Amen and Amen (so be it).
• Psalms 72:19Blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.
• Psalms 89:52Blessed be the Lord forevermore! Amen and Amen.
• John 3:3Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
• John 5:24“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, the person who hears My word [the one who heeds My message], and believes and trusts in Him who sent Me, has (possesses now) eternal life [that is, eternal life actually begins—the believer is transformed], and does not come into judgment and condemnation, but has passed [over] from death into life.
• John 6:53And Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood [unless you believe in Me as Savior and believe in the saving power of My blood which will be shed for you], you do not have life in yourselves.

Commentaries on Numbers 5:22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot - What is meant by these expressions cannot be easily ascertained. ירך לנפל lanpel yarech signifies literally thy thigh to fall. As the thigh, feet, etc., were used among the Hebrews delicately to express the parts which nature conceals, (see Genesis 46:26;), the expression here is probably to be understood in this sense; and the falling down of the thigh here must mean something similar to the prolapsus uteri, or…Read the comment
• 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. 2222. the woman shall say, Amen, Amen--The Israelites were accustomed, instead of formally repeating the words of an oath merely to say, "Amen," a "so be it" to the imprecations it contained. The reduplication of the word was designed as an evidence of the woman's innocence, and a willingness that God would do to her according to her desert.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 5:22

• Adultery
• Amen
• Bitter Water
• Husband
• Jealousy
• Oath
• Priest
• Self-Incrimination
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Adultery
• Amen
• Close
• Conceive
• Cross
• Curse
• Recompense
• Sinai
• Water of jealousy
• Alexander

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