Numbers 5:6-16

6 “Speak to the people of Israel, ¹When 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 ²he shall confess his sin that he has committed. ^{[a] 3}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 ⁴the ram of atonement with which atonement is made for him.

9 And ⁵every 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 ⁶lies 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, ⁷since 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^[b] of barley flour. ⁸He 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, ⁹bringing iniquity to remembrance.

16 “And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the Lord.

Numbers 5:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 5

This chapter contains a repetition of some former laws, concerning putting unclean persons out of the camp, Nu 5:1-4; making restitution in case of trespass against another, Nu 5:5-8; and of giving the offering of all holy things and all hallowed things to the priests, Nu 5:9,10; and a new law concerning jealousy, in a man, of his wife, Nu 5:11-14; when she was to be brought to the priest, and various rites and ceremonies to be used, Nu 5:15-23; who was to give her bitter water as a trial of her chastity, which, if guilty, would have a strange effect upon her, and make her accursed, but if not, would not affect her, and she would be free and happy, Nu 5:24-31.

Cross References

• 1. 5:6 Lev. 6:2, 3
• 2. 5:7 Lev. 5:5; 26:40; [Josh. 7:19]
• 3. 5:7 Lev. 6:5
• 4. 5:8 Lev. 6:6, 7
• 5. 5:9 ch. 18:19; Ex. 29:28; Lev. 6:17, 18; 7:6, 7, 9, 10, 14; Deut. 18:3, 4
• 6. 5:13 Lev. 18:20
• 7. 5:13 John 8:4
• 8. 5:15 [Lev. 2:1, 15; 5:11]
• 9. 5:15 1 Kgs. 17:18; Ezek. 29:16

Footnotes

• [a] 5:7 Hebrew 'they shall confess their sin that they have committed'
• [b] 5:15 An 'ephah' was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters