Numbers 5:14

14 But if her husband has feelings of jealousy and suspects she has sinned -- whether she has or not --

Numbers 5:14 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 5:14

And the spirit of jealousy come upon him
A thought rises up in his mind, a strong suspicion works in him, which he cannot resist and throw off, but it remains with him, and makes him very uneasy, that his wife has defiled his bed, as it follows:

and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled;
that his wife is defiled by a man; and which is the real case, as it afterwards appears, though at present he is not certain, only has a suspicion of it:

or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his
wife, and she be not defiled;
it is mere jealousy and suspicion, without any foundation for it; and his wife proved a chaste and virtuous woman; yet be it which it would, he being jealous, the following law was to take place, and the following rules to be observed.

Numbers 5:14 In-Context

12 "Tell the Israelites: 'A man's wife might be unfaithful to him

13 and have sexual relations with another man. Her sin might be kept hidden from her husband so that he does not know about the wrong she did. Perhaps no one saw it, and she wasn't caught.

14 But if her husband has feelings of jealousy and suspects she has sinned -- whether she has or not --

15 he should take her to the priest. The husband must also take an offering for her of two quarts of barley flour. He must not pour oil or incense on it, because this is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of remembrance. It is to find out if she is guilty.

16 "'The priest will bring in the woman and make her stand before the Lord.