Numbers 5:21

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

19Then the woman must agree to the strong promise that the priest tells her to say. The priest must say to her, “This water brings a curse. If no other man has had sex with you, it will not hurt you. 20But if another man has had sex with you, may the Lord bring the curse on you. The bitter water will cause your female parts to become smaller. Your stomach will become very big. 22That will happen when you drink the bitter water.” The woman must say, “That should happen. I agree!” 23The priest must write the curses on special paper. Then he must wash the words off the paper into the bitter water.

Numbers 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 made a strong promise. He said, ‘If anyone tries to build Jericho city again, the Lord will punish him as a guilty man. When he starts to build, his oldest son will die. When he puts up the city's gates, his youngest son will die.’
• 1 Samuel 14:24The Israelite soldiers became very weak and hungry that day. Saul had told his army to agree to this promise: ‘Nobody may eat any food before this evening. By then I will have won against my enemies. If anyone eats anything before then, may God curse him!’ So no soldier in Saul's army ate any food.
• Nehemiah 10:29All these people joined with their leaders and they promised to obey the agreement. They agreed that God should punish them if they did not obey all of God's Law. That was the Law that God had given to his servant Moses. They promised very strongly to obey all the commands, rules and laws of the Lord, our Lord.
• Matthew 26:74Peter said to them very strongly, ‘I tell you that I do not know that man. God will surely punish me if this is not true!’ Immediately after Peter said this, the cockerel sang.
• Isaiah 65:15My own people will use your names when they curse others. The Almighty Lord will kill you, but he will give to his servants another name.
• Jeremiah 29:22They will be an example to the people of Judah who are now living in Babylon. When they want to curse someone, they will say, “May the Lord punish you in the same way that the king of Babylon killed Zedekiah and Ahab. He burned them to death in a fire!”
• 2 Chronicles 21:15You will have a bad disease. You will have terrible pain in your stomach that becomes worse and worse. Finally, your inside parts will come out of your body.” ’
• Proverbs 10:7It is a pleasure to remember righteous people. But when wicked people die, people soon forget their name.

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

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