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 priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, “If no other man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. 20But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has had sexual relations with you….” Then the priest will put the woman under the oath of the curse and will say to the her, “The Lord make you an attested curse among your people, if the Lord makes your thigh fall away and your abdomen swell; 22and this water that causes the curse will go into your stomach, and make your abdomen swell and your thigh rot.” Then the woman must say, “Amen, amen.” 23“‘Then the priest will write these curses on a scroll and then scrape them off 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 this solemn declaration: “The man who attempts to rebuild this city of Jericho will stand condemned before the Lord. He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!”
• 1 Samuel 14:24Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening! I will get my vengeance on my enemies!” So no one in the army ate anything.
• Nehemiah 10:29hereby participate with their colleagues the town leaders and enter into a curse and an oath to adhere to the law of God which was given through Moses the servant of God, and to obey carefully all the commandments of the lord our Lord, along with his ordinances and his statutes.
• Matthew 26:74At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed.
• Isaiah 65:15Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones. The sovereign Lord will kill you, but he will give his servants another name.
• Jeremiah 29:22And all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use them as examples when they put a curse on anyone. They will say, “May the Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab whom the king of Babylon roasted to death in the fire!”
• 2 Chronicles 21:15And you will get a serious, chronic intestinal disease which will cause your intestines to come out.”
• Proverbs 10:7The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the reputation 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

• 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