Revised Literal Translation
Numbers 5:21
21Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Yhwh make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Yhwh doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;1
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
19And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse: 20But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband: Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Yhwh make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Yhwh doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; 22And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen. 23And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:
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
- 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
- Yhwhיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · 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 6:26And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before Yhwh, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.
- 1 Samuel 14:24And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.
- Nehemiah 10:29They clave to their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse, and into an oath, to walk in God’s law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of Yhwh our Lord, and his judgments and his statutes;
- Matthew 26:74Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
- Isaiah 65:15And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord Yhwh shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name:
- Jeremiah 29:22And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which are in Babylon, saying, Yhwh make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;
- 2 Chronicles 21:15And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.
- Proverbs 10:7The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall 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
Notes
- 1. Numbers 5:21 rot: Heb. fall. ↩
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries