English Standard Version
Numbers 5:21
21then' (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.
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.
- 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;
- New Living Translation (NLT)“At this point the priest must put the woman under oath by saying, ‘May the people know that the Lord’s curse is upon you when he makes you infertile, causing your womb to shrivel and your abdomen to swell.
Context of Numbers 5:21
19Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband's authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband's authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, 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. 22May 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.' 23"Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness.
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 6:26Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, "Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. "At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates."
- 1 Samuel 14:24And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, "Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies." So none of the people had tasted food.
- Nehemiah 10:29join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes.
- Matthew 26:74Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed.
- Isaiah 65:15You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord God will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name,
- Jeremiah 29:22Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: "The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,"
- 2 Chronicles 21:15and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day.'"
- Proverbs 10:7The memory 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries