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 Living Translation (NLT)If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings on the curse will cause bitter suffering. Her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrink, and her name will become a curse among her people.

Context of Numbers 5:27

25Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman’s hand, shall wave the offering before the Lord, and bring it to the altar; 26and 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. 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. 28But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children. 29‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband’s authority, 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

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when he hath made her to drinkשָׁקָהshâqâh · to water: drinkH8248
• the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• if she be defiledטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• and have doneמָעַלmâ‛al · be unfaithfulH4603
• trespassמַ֫עַלma‛al · unfaithfulnessH4604
• against her husbandאִישׁ'îysh · man: husbandH376
• that causeth the curseאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
• shall enterבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• bitterמַרmar mârâh · bitterH4751
• and her bellyבֶּ֫טֶןbeţen · belly: wombH990
• shall swellצָבָהtsâbâh · to swellH6638
• and her thighיָרֵךְyârêk · thighH3409
• shall rotנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• and the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• shall be a curseאָלָה'âlâh · oathH423
• amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• her peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971

Cross-references for Numbers 5:27

• Numbers 5:20But 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 lain with you”—
• Proverbs 5:4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
• Ecclesiastes 7:26And I find more bitter than death The woman whose heart is snares and nets, Whose hands are fetters. He who pleases God shall escape from her, But the sinner shall be trapped by her.
• Romans 6:21What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
• 2 Corinthians 2:16To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?
• Hebrews 10:26For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
• 2 Peter 2:10and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,
• Deuteronomy 28:37And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the Lord will drive you.
• Psalms 83:9Deal with them as with Midian, As with Sisera, As with Jabin at the Brook Kishon,
• Isaiah 65:15You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord God will slay you, And call His servants by another name;
• Jeremiah 24:9I will deliver them to trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them.
• Jeremiah 29:18And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence; and I will deliver them to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth—to be a curse, an astonishment, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them,
• Jeremiah 42:18“For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘As My anger and My fury have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so will My fury be poured out on you when you enter Egypt. And you shall be an oath, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.’
• Zechariah 8:13And it shall come to pass That just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, So I will save you, and you shall be 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