Numbers 5:20

20 But if you have committed adultery,

Numbers 5:20 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 5:20

But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy
husband
Gone aside from the paths of modesty and chastity, and betook herself to another man's bed instead of her husband's:

and if thou be defiled,
by committing adultery:

and some man hath lain with thee beside thy husband;
these phrases are all synonymous, and a heap of words are made use of to express the sin, and that there might be no evasion of it, and that it might be clear what was intended, this being said on oath.

Numbers 5:20 In-Context

18 Then he shall loosen the woman's hair and put the offering of flour in her hands. In his hands the priest shall hold the bowl containing the bitter water that brings a curse.
19 Then the priest shall make the woman agree to this oath spoken by the priest: "If you have not committed adultery, you will not be harmed by the curse that this water brings.
20 But if you have committed adultery,
21 may the Lord make your name a curse among your people. May he cause your genital organs to shrink and your stomach to swell up.
22 May this water enter your stomach and cause it to swell up and your genital organs to shrink." The woman shall respond, "I agree; may the Lord do so."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.