Numbers 5:24

24 He will make the woman drink the waters of the bitterness that brings a curse, and the waters of bitterness that bring a curse will go into her.

Numbers 5:24 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 5:24

And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that
causeth the curse
. Having the curse imprecated upon herself, if guilty, scraped into it; and this she was obliged to drink, whether she would or not; so it is said, if the roll is blotted out, and she says I am defiled, the water is poured out, and her offering is scattered in the place of ashes; if the roll is blotted out, and she says I will not drink, then force her, and make her drink whether she will or no ^F26:

and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, [and become]
bitter;
produce the sad and bitter effects mentioned.

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FOOTNOTES:

F26 Misnah, ut supra, (Sotah) c. 3. sect. 3.

Numbers 5:24 In-Context

22 and these waters that bring a curse will go into your intestines to cause [your] womb to swell and to make [your] hip fall away." And the women will say, "Amen. Amen."

23 " 'And the priests will write these curses on the scroll, and he will wipe [them] off into the waters of the bitterness.

24 He will make the woman drink the waters of the bitterness that brings a curse, and the waters of bitterness that bring a curse will go into her.

25 The priest will take the grain offering of jealousy from the hand of the woman, and he will wave the grain offering {before Yahweh}, and he will present it to the altar;

26 the priest will grasp her memorial offering from the grain offering, and he will turn [it] into smoke [on] the altar, and afterward he will make the woman drink the waters.

Footnotes

• [a] Hebrew "bring"