4.Mose 5 | New International Reader’s Version

Making the camp pure

1 The LORD spoke to Moses. He said, 2 ‘Tell the Israelites that certain people must be sent away from the camp. Command them to send away anyone who has a skin disease. They must send away all those who have liquid waste coming from their bodies. And they must send away those who are “unclean” because they have touched a dead body. 3 That applies to men and women alike. Send them out of the camp. They must not make their camp “unclean”. That is where I live among them.’ 4 So the Israelites did what the LORD commanded. They sent out of the camp those who were ‘unclean’. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.

Sins against others must be paid for

5 The LORD said to Moses, 6 ‘Speak to the Israelites. Say to them, “Suppose a man or woman does something wrong to someone else. Then that person is not being faithful to the LORD. People like that are guilty. 7 They must admit they have committed a sin. They must pay in full for what they did wrong. And they must add a fifth of the value to it. Then they must give all of it to the person they have sinned against. 8 But suppose that person has died. And suppose that person does not have a close relative who can be paid for the sin that was committed. Then what is paid belongs to the LORD. It must be given to the priest. A ram must be given along with it. The ram must be sacrificed to the LORD to pay for the sin. 9 All the sacred gifts the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. 10 Sacred gifts belong to their owners. But what they give to the priest will belong to the priest.” ’

The test for an unfaithful wife

11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses again. He said, 12 ‘Speak to the Israelites. Say to them, “Suppose a man’s wife goes astray. And suppose she is not faithful to her husband. 13 Suppose another man has sex with her. And suppose this is hidden from her husband. No one knows she is not ‘clean’. So there is no witness against her. And she has not been caught in the act. 14 Suppose her husband becomes jealous. He does not trust his wife, and she is really ‘unclean’. Or suppose he does not trust her even though she is ‘clean’. 15 Then he must take his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering. It must be 1.5 kilograms of barley flour. The offering is for his wife. He must not pour olive oil on it. And he must not put incense on it. It is a grain offering for being jealous. It calls attention to the wrong thing a person has done. 16 ‘ “The priest must make her stand in front of the LORD. 17 He must pour some holy water into a clay jar. He must get some dust from the floor of the holy tent. And he must put it into the water. 18 The priest must make the woman stand in front of the LORD. Then he must untie her hair. He must place in her hands the offering that calls attention to the wrong thing a person has done. It is the grain offering for being jealous. The priest must keep the bitter water with him. It is the water that brings a curse. 19 Then the priest must make the woman give her word. He must say to her, ‘Suppose no other man has had sex with you. And suppose you haven’t gone astray. You have kept yourself pure while you are married to your husband. Then may the bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. 20 But suppose you have gone astray while you are married to your husband. You have made yourself “unclean”. You have had sex with a man who isn’t your husband.’ 21 At that point the priest must put the woman under the curse that will come if she breaks her word. He must say, ‘May the LORD cause you to become a curse among your people. You will become a curse when the LORD makes your body unable to have children. 22 May this water that brings a curse enter your body. May it make your body unable to have children.’ ‘ “Then the woman must say, ‘Amen. Let it happen.’ 23 ‘ “The priest must write the curses on a scroll. He must wash them off in the bitter water. 24 It is the water he will make the woman drink. It is bitter water that brings a curse. It will enter her body. And it will cause her to suffer bitterly. 25 The priest must take from her hands the grain offering for being jealous. He must lift it up and wave it in front of the LORD. He must bring it to the altar. 26 Then the priest must take a handful of the grain offering. It is the offering that calls attention to the wrong thing a person has done. The priest must burn it on the altar. After that, he must make the woman drink the water. 27 Suppose she has made herself ‘unclean’. She has not been faithful to her husband. And she has drunk the water that brings a curse. Then it will go into her body. It will cause her to suffer bitterly. It will make her body unable to have children. She will become a curse. 28 Suppose the woman has not made herself ‘unclean’. But suppose she is ‘clean’. Then she will be free of guilt. And she will be able to have children. 29 ‘ “This is the law about being jealous. It applies to a woman who has gone astray. She has made herself ‘unclean’ while she is married to her husband. 30 And it applies to a man who becomes jealous. He has doubts about his wife. The priest must make her stand in front of the LORD. He must apply the entire law to her. 31 The husband will not be guilty of doing anything wrong. But the woman will be punished for her sin.” ’

English Standard Version

Unclean People

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous* or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. 3 You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” 4 And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.

Confession and Restitution

5 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 6 “Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the Lord, and that person realizes his guilt, 7 he shall confess his sin that he has committed.* And he shall make full restitution for his wrong, adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong. 8 But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the Lord for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 And every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10 Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his.”

A Test for Adultery

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “Speak to the people of Israel, If any man’s wife goes astray and breaks faith with him, 13 if a man lies with her sexually, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she was not taken in the act, 14 and if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife, though she has not defiled herself, 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah* of barley flour. He shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance. 16 “And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord. 17 And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord and unbind the hair of the woman’s head and place in her hands the grain offering of remembrance, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And in his hand the priest shall have the water of bitterness that brings the curse. 19 Then the priest shall make her take an oath, saying, ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside to uncleanness while you were under your husband’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20 But if you have gone astray, though you are under your husband’s authority, and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your husband has lain with you, 21 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. 22 May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen.’ 23 “Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. 25 And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand and shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar. 26 And the priest shall take a handful of the grain offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water. 27 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. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children. 29 “This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, though under her husband’s authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous of his wife. Then he shall set the woman before the Lord, and the priest shall carry out for her all this law. 31 The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”

4.Mose 5 | New International Reader’s Version English Standard Version