English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
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God spoke to Moses:
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.
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"Command the People of Israel to ban from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease, anyone who has a discharge, and anyone who is ritually unclean from contact with a dead body.
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."
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Ban male and female alike; send them outside the camp so that they won't defile their camp, the place I live among them."
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.
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The People of Israel did this, banning them from the camp. They did exactly what God had commanded through Moses.
5 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
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God spoke to Moses:
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,
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"Tell the People of Israel, When a man or woman commits any sin, the person has broken trust with God, is guilty,
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.
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and must confess the sin. Full compensation plus twenty percent must be made to whoever was wronged.
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.
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If the wronged person has no close relative who can receive the compensation, the compensation belongs to God and must be given to the priest, along with the ram by which atonement is made.
9 And every contribution, all the holy donations of the people of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his.
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All the sacred offerings that the People of Israel bring to a priest belong to the priest.
10 Each one shall keep his holy donations: whatever anyone gives to the priest shall be his."
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Each person's sacred offerings are his own, but what one gives to the priest stays with the priest."
11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
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God spoke to Moses:
12 "Speak to the people of Israel, If any man's wife goes astray and breaks faith with him,
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"Tell the People of Israel, Say a man's wife goes off and has an affair, is unfaithful to 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,
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by sleeping with another man, but her husband knows nothing about it even though she has defiled herself. And then, even though there was no witness and she wasn't caught 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,
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feelings of jealousy come over the husband and he suspects that his wife is impure. Even if she is innocent and his jealousy and suspicions are groundless,
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.
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he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of two quarts of barley flour for her. He is to pour no oil on it or mix incense with it because it is a Grain-Offering for jealousy, a Grain-Offering for bringing the guilt out into the open.
16 "And the priest shall bring her near and set her before the LORD.
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"The priest then is to take her and have her stand in the presence of God.
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.
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He is to take some holy water in a pottery jar and put some dust from the floor of The Dwelling in 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.
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After the priest has her stand in the presence of God he is to uncover her hair and place the exposure-offering in her hands, the Grain-Offering for jealousy, while he holds the bitter water that delivers a 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.
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Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say, 'If no man has slept with you and you have not had an adulterous affair and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that delivers a curse not harm you.
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,
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But if you have had an affair while married to your husband and have defiled yourself by sleeping with a man other than your husband' -
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.
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here the priest puts the woman under this curse - 'may God cause your people to curse and revile you when he makes your womb shrivel and your belly 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.'
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Let this water that delivers a curse enter your body so that your belly swells and your womb shrivels.' "Then 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.
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"The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash the words off into the bitter water.
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.
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He then is to give the woman the bitter water that delivers a curse. This water will enter her body and cause acute 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.
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The priest then is to take from her hands a handful of the Grain-Offering for jealousy, wave it before God, 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.
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The priest then is to take a handful of the Grain-Offering, using it as an exposure-offering, and burn it on the Altar; after this he is to make her 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.
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If she has defiled herself in being unfaithful to her husband, when she drinks the water that delivers a curse, it will enter her body and cause acute pain; her belly will swell and her womb shrivel. She will be cursed among her people.
28 But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, then she shall be free and shall conceive children.
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But if she has not defiled herself and is innocent of impurity, her name will be cleared and she will be able to have children.
29 "This is the law in cases of jealousy, when a wife, though under her husband's authority, goes astray and defiles herself,
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"This is the law of jealousy in a case where a woman goes off and has an affair and defiles herself while married to her husband,
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.
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or a husband is tormented with feelings of jealousy because he suspects his wife. The priest is to have her stand in the presence of God and go through this entire procedure with her.
31 The man shall be free from iniquity, but the woman shall bear her iniquity."
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The husband will be cleared of wrong, but the woman will pay for her wrong."
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.