Numbers 5:26

Numbers 5:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.
• New International Version (NIV)The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial offering and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water.

Context of Numbers 5:26

24Then he will have the woman drink the bitter water that can bring the curse. This water will go into her ⌞and⌟ become bitter. 25The priest will take the grain offering she was holding, present it to the Lord, and bring it to the altar. The priest will take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Then he will have the woman drink the water. 27If she has become unclean by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that can bring the curse will go into her and become bitter. Her stomach will swell, her uterus will drop, and she will become cursed among her people. 28But if the woman is not unclean and is pure, she is not guilty and will be able to have children.

Numbers 5:26 word by word

וְקָמַ֨ץ הַכֹּהֵ֤ן מִן־הַמִּנְחָה֙ אֶת־אַזְכָּ֣רָתָ֔הּ וְהִקְטִ֖יר הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חָה וְאַחַ֛ר יַשְׁקֶ֥ה אֶת־הָאִשָּׁ֖ה אֶת־הַמָּֽיִם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• shall take an handfulקָמַץqâmats · to graspH7061
• of the offeringמִנְחָהminchâh · offeringH4503
• the memorialאַזְכָּרָה'azkârâh · memorialH234
• thereof, and burnקָטַרqâţar · to offer: burnH6999
• upon the altarמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• and afterwardאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• shall cause the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• to drinkשָׁקָהshâqâh · to water: drinkH8248
• the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325

Cross-references for Numbers 5:26

• Leviticus 2:2Then bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. Take from this a handful of flour with olive oil, and all the incense. The priest will burn it on the altar as a reminder. It is an offering by fire, a soothing aroma to the Lord.
• Leviticus 5:12Bring it to the priest. The priest will take a handful of it. He will burn it as a reminder on top of the offering by fire to the Lord on the altar. It is an offering for sin.
• Leviticus 6:15One of them will remove a handful of flour from the grain offering, together with the olive oil and all the incense. He will burn it on the altar as a reminder. It is a soothing aroma to the Lord.

Commentaries on Numbers 5:26

• 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 5:26

• Adultery
• Bitter Water
• Husband
• Jealousy
• Offerings
• Priest
• Self-Incrimination
• 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