Christian Standard Bible
Numbers 5:21
21at this point the priest will make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her — ‘May the Lord make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when he makes your womb shrivel and your belly swell.
Numbers 5:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The Lord make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the Lord doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;
- New International Version (NIV)here the priest is to put the woman under this curse—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell.
- English Standard Version (ESV)then' (let the priest make the woman take 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 fall away and your body swell.
- New King James Version (NKJV)then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman—“the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the Lord makes your thigh rot and your belly swell;
Context of Numbers 5:21
19The priest will require the woman to take an oath and will say to her, ‘If no man has slept with you, if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, be unaffected by this bitter water that brings a curse. 20But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has slept with you’ — at this point the priest will make the woman take the oath with the sworn curse, and he is to say to her — ‘May the Lord make you into an object of your people’s cursing and swearing when he makes your womb shrivel and your belly swell. 22May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach, causing your belly to swell and your womb to shrivel.’ “And the woman will reply, ‘Amen, Amen.’ 23“Then the priest is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.
Read all of Numbers 5Numbers 5:21 word by word
וְהִשְׁבִּ֨יעַ הַכֹּהֵ֥ן אֶֽת־הָֽאִשָּׁה֮ בִּשְׁבֻעַ֣ת הָאָלָה֒ וְאָמַ֤ר הַכֹּהֵן֙ לָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה יִתֵּ֨ן יְהוָ֥ה אוֹתָ֛ךְ לְאָלָ֥ה וְלִשְׁבֻעָ֖ה בְּת֣וֹךְ עַמֵּ֑ךְ בְּתֵ֨ת יְהוָ֤ה אֶת־יְרֵכֵךְ֙ נֹפֶ֔לֶת וְאֶת־בִּטְנֵ֖ךְ צָבָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- shall chargeשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
- the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
- with an oathשְׁבוּעָהshebû‛âh · oathH7621
- of cursingאָלָה'âlâh · oathH423
- shall sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- The Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- makeנָתַןnâthan · to give: makeH5414
- amongתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- thy peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- thy thighיָרֵךְyârêk · thighH3409
- to rotנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
- and thy bellyבֶּ֫טֶןbeţen · belly: bodyH990
- to swellצָבֶהtsâbeh · swollenH6639
Cross-references for Numbers 5:21
- Joshua 6:26At that time Joshua imposed this curse: The man who undertakes the rebuilding of this city, Jericho, is cursed before the Lord. He will lay its foundation at the cost of his firstborn; he will finish its gates at the cost of his youngest.
- 1 Samuel 14:24and the men of Israel were worn out that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath: “The man who eats food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies is cursed.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
- Nehemiah 10:29join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the law of God given through God’s servant Moses and to obey carefully all the commands, ordinances, and statutes of the Lord our Lord.
- Matthew 26:74Then he started to curse and to swear with an oath, “I don’t know the man!” Immediately a rooster crowed,
- Isaiah 65:15You will leave your name behind as a curse for my chosen ones, and the Lord God will kill you; but he will give his servants another name.
- Jeremiah 29:22Based on what happens to them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will create a curse that says, ‘May the Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire! ’
- 2 Chronicles 21:15You yourself will be struck with many illnesses, including a disease of the intestines, until your intestines come out day after day because of the disease.”
- Proverbs 10:7The remembrance of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
Commentaries on Numbers 5:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21The Lord make thee a curse and an oath - Let thy name and punishment be remembered and mentioned as an example and terror to all others. Like that mentioned Jeremiah 29:22, Jeremiah 29:23; : "The Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives." - Ainsworth.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. 21making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell: Thigh is a polite way to speak about the reproductive organs (compare Genesis 24:2; 47:29). Something would stop her ability to have children. The punishment matched the crime, as sexual immorality led to infertility.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. The Lord make thee a curse, &c.--a usual form of imprecation (Is 65:15; Jr 29:22).Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 5:21
In the dictionaries
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
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