📖 Numbers — Chapter 5 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Numbers 5:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 5:2 Command the children of Israel, that they Rput out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:
Numbers 5:3 Both male and female shall ye put out, Rwithout the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.
Numbers 5:4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.
Numbers 5:5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 5:6 Speak unto the children of Israel, RWhen a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;
Numbers 5:7 Then they shall Rconfess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed.
Numbers 5:8 But if the man Rhave no kinsman to recompense the trespass unto, let the trespass be recompensed unto the LORD, even to the priest; beside the ram of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him.
Numbers 5:9 And every RToffering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his.
Numbers 5:10 And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.
Numbers 5:11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 5:12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
Numbers 5:13 And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;
Numbers 5:14 And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:
Numbers 5:15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring Rher offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Numbers 5:16 And the priest shall Rbring her near, and set her before the LORD:
Numbers 5:17 And the priest shall take Rholy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:
Numbers 5:18 And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and Runcover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:
Numbers 5:19 And the priest shall Rcharge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness Twith another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:
Numbers 5:20 But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:
Numbers 5:21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, RThe LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to Trot, and thy belly to swell;
Numbers 5:22 And this water that causeth the curse shall Rgo into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.
Numbers 5:23 And the priest shall Rwrite these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:
Numbers 5:24 And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.
Numbers 5:25 Then the Rpriest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:
Numbers 5:26 And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.
Numbers 5:27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, Rif she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
Numbers 5:28 RAnd if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
Numbers 5:29 This is Rthe law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
Numbers 5:30 Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
Numbers 5:31 Then shall the man Rbe guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Numbers 5:1–10 — The Camp and Restitution
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Those with the stated uncleanness are put outside the camp so that it is not defiled, for the LORD dwells among Israel. The passage also requires confession and restitution for wrongdoing, including an added fifth part. If there is no kinsman to receive the repayment, it is given to the priest.
Key Truth: The camp's holiness and the making of amends are both addressed in these commands.
Check What You Remember
1. Where were the people with the stated uncleanness sent? (Numbers 5:2–3)
Find it in Numbers 5:2–3 (KJV).
2. What was a guilty person to confess? (Numbers 5:7)
Find it in Numbers 5:7 (KJV).
3. What extra portion was added in restitution? (Numbers 5:7)
Find it in Numbers 5:7 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Numbers 5:11–22 — The Jealousy Case before the Priest
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The passage describes a husband's suspicion concerning his wife where the conditions of the case have not been established by a witness. He brings her and a barley offering to the priest. The priest sets her before the LORD with the stated oath and water procedure. These are the particular instructions recorded for this case in Israel.
Key Truth: The text sets out a specified priestly procedure for the jealousy case it describes.
Check What You Remember
1. What grain was used for the jealousy offering? (Numbers 5:15)
Find it in Numbers 5:15 (KJV).
2. In what kind of vessel was the holy water placed? (Numbers 5:17)
Find it in Numbers 5:17 (KJV).
3. What was added to the water from the tabernacle floor? (Numbers 5:17)
Find it in Numbers 5:17 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Numbers 5:23–31 — The Procedure and Stated Outcomes
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The priest writes the curses, blots them into the water, and carries out the offering and drinking procedure. The text describes a curse if the wife is defiled and freedom from it if she is not defiled. It closes by identifying this as the law of jealousies.
Key Truth: The passage records both the prescribed procedure and its distinct stated outcomes.
Check What You Remember
1. In what did the priest write the curses? (Numbers 5:23)
Find it in Numbers 5:23 (KJV).
2. Where was the memorial handful of the offering burned? (Numbers 5:26)
Find it in Numbers 5:26 (KJV).
3. Was an undefiled woman declared free in verse 28? (Numbers 5:28)
Find it in Numbers 5:28 (KJV).
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. How is removal of the stated uncleanness explained by God’s presence?
2. How do confession and restitution work together after trespass?
3. How is restitution redirected when there is no kinsman to receive it?
4. How does the jealousy offering’s preparation reflect its stated purpose?
5. How does the chapter distinguish the stated outcomes for the woman?
Notes
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