Tree of Life Version
Numbers 5:21
21Then the kohen is to have the woman swear under this oath of a curse, and say to the woman—‘then let Adonai cause you to be cursed and denounced among your people when Adonai causes your thigh to rot and your belly to swell.
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 kohen will have her swear under oath, then say to the woman, ‘If no man other than your husband has slept with you, and if you have not gone astray into impurity from your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. 20If, however, you have gone astray from your husband and if you became impure and had sexual relations with a man other than your husband’— Then the kohen is to have the woman swear under this oath of a curse, and say to the woman—‘then let Adonai cause you to be cursed and denounced among your people when Adonai causes your thigh to rot and your belly to swell. 22“May this water which brings a curse enter your body and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to rot.’ “The woman is to say, ‘Amen, amen!’ 23“Then the kohen is to write these curses on a scroll and wash them into the waters of bitterness.
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
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 an oath saying: “Cursed before Adonai is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho! On his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and on his youngest son he will set up its gates.”
- 1 Samuel 14:24Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed that day, for Saul put the people under oath saying, “Cursed be the man that eats any food before evening, until I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the people tasted food.
- Nehemiah 10:29“Now the rest of the people —the kohanim, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the Temple servants, and all who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands for the sake of the Torah of God, along with their wives, their sons and their daughters who were able to understand—
- Matthew 26:74Then he began to curse and to swear an oath: “I do not know the Man!” Right then, a rooster crowed.
- Isaiah 65:15You will leave your name behind as a curse for My chosen ones, and Adonai Elohim will slay you. But He will call His servants by another name.
- Jeremiah 29:22So a curse will be taken up by everyone in exile from Judah who are in Babylon, saying: ‘May Adonai make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire’—
- 2 Chronicles 21:15You yourself will be striken by multiple illnesses of your intestines, day after day, until your intestines drop out because of the illness.”
- Proverbs 10:7The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name 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
In the dictionaries
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
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