Numbers 5:28

Numbers 5:28 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
• New International Version (NIV)If, however, the woman has not made herself impure, but is clean, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.

Context of Numbers 5:28

26Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water. 27When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people. But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children. 29This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority, 30or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law.

Numbers 5:28 word by word

וְאִם־לֹ֤א נִטְמְאָה֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה וּטְהֹרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וְנִקְּתָ֖ה וְנִזְרְעָ֥ה זָֽרַע׃Read the interlinear

• But ifאִם'im · ifH518
• the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• has notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• defiled herselfטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• and is cleanטָהוֹרţâhôr ţâhôr · pureH2889
• sheהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• will be unaffectedנָקָהnâqâh · to clearH5352
• and able to conceiveזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
• childrenזֶ֫רַעzera‛ · seed: childrenH2233

Cross-references for Numbers 5:28

• Numbers 5:19And he is to put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be immune to this bitter water that brings a curse.
• Micah 7:7But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
• 2 Corinthians 4:17For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison.
• 1 Peter 1:7so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
• Psalms 113:9He settles the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother to her children. Hallelujah!

Commentaries on Numbers 5:28

• 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 5:28

• Adultery
• Husband
• Jealousy
• Priest
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

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

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