Numbers 5:27

Numbers 5:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
• New International Version (NIV)If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people.
• New King James Version (NKJV)When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people.

Context of Numbers 5:27

25The priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar; 26and the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering as its memorial offering and offer it up in smoke on the altar, and afterward he shall make the woman drink the water. When he has made her drink the water, then it shall come about, if she has defiled herself and has been unfaithful to her husband, that the water which brings a curse will go into her and cause bitterness, and her abdomen will swell and her thigh will waste away, and the woman will become a curse among her people. 28But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will then be free and conceive children. 29‘This is the law of jealousy: when a wife, being under the authority of her husband, goes astray and defiles herself,

Numbers 5:27 word by word

וְהִשְׁקָ֣הּ אֶת־הַמַּ֗יִם וְהָיְתָ֣ה אִֽם־נִטְמְאָה֮ וַתִּמְעֹ֣ל מַ֣עַל בְּאִישָׁהּ֒ וּבָ֨אוּ בָ֜הּ הַמַּ֤יִם הַמְאָֽרֲרִים֙ לְמָרִ֔ים וְצָבְתָ֣ה בִטְנָ֔הּ וְנָפְלָ֖ה יְרֵכָ֑הּ וְהָיְתָ֧ה הָאִשָּׁ֛ה לְאָלָ֖ה בְּקֶ֥רֶב עַמָּֽהּ׃Read the interlinear

• When he has made her drinkשָׁקָהshâqâh · to water: drinkH8248
• the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• then it shall comeהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• about, ifאִם'im · ifH518
• she has defiledטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• herself and has beenמָעַלmâ‛al · be unfaithfulH4603
• unfaithfulמַ֫עַלma‛al · unfaithfulnessH4604
• to her husbandאִישׁ'îysh · man: husbandH376
• which bringsאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
• will goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• bitternessמַרmar mârâh · bitterH4751
• and her abdomenבֶּ֫טֶןbeţen · belly: wombH990
• will swellצָבָהtsâbâh · to swellH6638
• and her thighיָרֵךְyârêk · thighH3409
• wasteנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• and the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• a curseאָלָה'âlâh · oathH423
• amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• her peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971

Cross-references for Numbers 5:27

• Numbers 5:20if you, however, have gone astray, being under the authority of your husband, and if you have defiled yourself and a man other than your husband has had intercourse with you”
• Proverbs 5:4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
• Ecclesiastes 7:26And I discovered more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, whose hands are chains. One who is pleasing to God will escape from her, but the sinner will be captured by her.
• Romans 6:21Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death.
• 2 Corinthians 2:16to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?
• Hebrews 10:26For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
• 2 Peter 2:10and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties,
• Deuteronomy 28:37You shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the Lord drives you.
• Psalms 83:9Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon,
• Isaiah 65:15You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones, And the Lord God will slay you. But My servants will be called by another name.
• Jeremiah 24:9I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them.
• Jeremiah 29:18I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a horror and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them,
• Jeremiah 42:18For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “As My anger and wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach; and you will see this place no more.”
• Zechariah 8:13It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’

Commentaries on Numbers 5:27

• 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 5:27

• Adultery
• Bitter Water
• Husband
• Jealousy
• Priest
• Self-Incrimination
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Adultery
• Close
• Conceive
• Cross
• Curse
• Jealousy, Waters of
• Recompense
• Sinai
• Water of jealousy
• Alexander

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