The priest shall set the woman before Yahweh, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse.
Parallel Translations
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The priest shall set the woman before Yahweh, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse.
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And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover 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:
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And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and let the hair of the woman's head go loose, and put the meal-offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal-offering of jealousy; and the priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that causeth the curse.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to Numbers 5:18 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 13:45 “The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’
- Numbers 5:15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: one tenth of an ephah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory.
- Numbers 5:17 The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and the priest shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.
- Numbers 5:22 and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.” The woman shall say, “Amen, Amen.”
- Numbers 5:24-26 He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter. The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal offering before Yahweh, and bring it to the altar. The priest shall take a handful of the meal offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.
- Deuteronomy 29:18 lest there should be among you man, woman, family, or tribe whose heart turns away today from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that produces bitter poison;
- 1 Samuel 15:32 Then Samuel said, “Bring Agag the king of the Amalekites here to me!” Agag came to him cheerfully. Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.”
- Proverbs 5:4 but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, and as sharp as a two-edged sword.
- Ecclesiastes 7:26 I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and traps, whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God shall escape from her; but the sinner will be ensnared by her.
- Isaiah 38:17 Behold, for peace I had great anguish, but you have in love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for you have cast all my sins behind your back.
- Jeremiah 2:19 “Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backsliding will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, and that my fear is not in you,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
- 1 Corinthians 11:6 For if a woman is not covered, let her hair also be cut off. But if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or be shaved, let her be covered.
- Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. There is no creature that is hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.
- Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled; but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- Revelation 2:19-23 “I know your works, your love, faith, service, patient endurance, and that your last works are more than the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate your woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her into great oppression, unless they repent of her works. I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.
- Revelation 10:9-10 I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. He said to me, “Take it, and eat it. It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.” I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth. When I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.
- 1 Corinthians 11:15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, for her hair is given to her for a covering.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain It was so called by the effect, because it…
It was so called by the effect, because it declared the woman to be accursed, and turned to her destruction.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 5:18 And the priest shall set the woman…
Num 5:18 And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover 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:
Ver. 18. Uncover the woman’s head.] Because she stood now upon her justification, and thereupon laid aside, for present, this sign of subjection to the man. {1Co 11:7}
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The offering of memorial.] Brought by her husband, {Num 5:15} who was now sick of one of those three diseases, that they say are hardly cured, jealousy, frenzy, and heresy.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Before the Lord; before the tabernacle, with her face…
Before the Lord; before the tabernacle, with her face towards the ark.
Uncover the woman’s head; partly, that she might be made sensible how manifest she and all her ways were to God, and that she might be more visible to the congregation, that her shame might be greater if she were guilty; partly, in token of her sorrow either for her sin, or at least for any cause of suspicion which she had given; partly, as a sign that she was after a sort deprived of the help and protection of her husband, which the covering of the woman’s head signified, 1Co 11:5-7,10, and that she was neither virgin nor loyal with, for the heads of both these used to be covered.
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In her hands, that she herself might offer it, and therefore call God to be witness of her innocency. Bitter; so called either from the bitter taste which the dust gave it, or from the bitter effects of it upon her if she were guilty. Compare Exo 32:20.
That causeth the curse; not by any natural power, but by a supernatural efficacy ordained and wrought by God for her punishment, and for the terror and caution of others.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the priest shall set the woman before the…
And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord,.... In the east of the tabernacle, with her face to the west, where was the holy of holies, so Ben Gersom; but not immediately for they had her from place to place, as Jarchi says, till she was weary, and her mind disturbed, that she might confess; and if she said, I am defiled, she rent the writing of her dowry, and went out; but if she said, I am pure, they brought her to the eastern gate, the gate of Nicanor, for there they made women suspected of adultery to drink the waters (t):
and uncover the woman's head; as a token of her immodesty and non-subjection to her husband, and that she might be seen by all, to cause shame in her: according to the Misnah (u), the priest took off her clothes, and loosed her hair--if she was clothed with white garments, he clothed her with black; if she had on her ornaments of gold, chains, earrings, or rings, he took them away from her, that she might be unseemly, and whoever would might come and look at her:
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and put the offering of memorial into her hands, which is the jealousy offering; to weary her, as Jarchi says, that if perhaps her mind was disturbed she would confess; and so in the Misnah (w) it is said, that her husband put this offering into her hands to weary her; but the true reason here seems to be, that it might appear to be her own offering:
and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse; not that the water was bitter of itself, for it was the water out of the laver, and had nothing in it but the dust of the floor of the tabernacle; though some think some bitter thing was put into it, so Ben Gersom, as wormwood; but it is so called from the effects of it on those that were guilty; it produced sad effects in them, bitter and distressing, and made them appear to be accursed ones, for it was not bitter till it entered, Num 5:24; whereas it was not so to the innocent, nor attended with any such consequence to them; so that there was nothing in the water itself, but its efficacy was divine and supernatural.
(t) Sotah, c. 1. sect. 5. (u) Sotah, c. 1. sect. 5, 6. (w) Sotah, c. 2. sect. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Before the Lord - Before the tabernacle with her…
Before the Lord - Before the tabernacle with her face towards the ark. Uncover her head - Partly that she might be made sensible how manifest she and all her ways were to God; partly in token of her sorrow for her sin, or at least for any cause of suspicion which she had given. In her hands - That she herself might offer it, and thereby call God to be witness of her innocency. Bitter - So called either from the bitter taste which the dust gave it, or from the bitter effects of it upon her, if she were guilty. That causeth the curse - Not by any natural power, but by a supernatural efficacy.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 18. Uncover the woman's head] To take off…
Verse 18. Uncover the woman's head] To take off a woman's veil, and expose her to the sight of men, would be considered a very great degradation in the East. To this St. Paul appears to allude, 1Co 11:5-6; 1Co 11:10.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 18. The woman before the Lord — In Num_5:16…
18. The woman before the Lord — In Num_5:16 the offering was “before the Lord” when brought to the altar. The woman was “before the Lord” when, with her face toward the ark, where dwelt the Shekinah, she stood before the door of the tabernacle.
And uncover the woman’s head — The Mishna prescribes that she be clothed in black, with a rope girded around her waist. It would seem from the text that her head was vailed, probably also in black. This uncovering seems to typify her removal from the protection of her husband, and her exposure to the wrath of God. It was necessary, also, that the vail be removed in order that the people might mark the woman, and note the Divine stroke upon her in the future if she were guilty. We cannot accept the statement that dishevelling the hair is all that is here meant. In the same Hebrew words Aaron is forbidden to uncover his head in mourning for his sons, Nadab and Abihu. Lev_10:6. The jealousy offering was to be in her hands until her oath had entitled her to have it burned upon the altar. The woman, holding her offering — the priest, with the curse-water in his hand — and the jealous husband, the priests, and people looking on, constitute a tableau vivant of deep and solemn interest.
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The bitter water — It was not bitter in its taste, but in its effects upon the guilty. The Septuagint reads, water of conviction.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 18. The hair is let loose as a sign…
18. The hair is let loose as a sign of mourning for her shame.
the water of bitterness] the water which causes physical pain.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Uncover the woman"s head. In token that she had…
Uncover the woman"s head. In token that she had forfeited her glory by breaking, or seeming to have broken, her allegiance to her husband; (1Co_11:5-10) perhaps also with some reference to the truth that "all things are naked and open to the eyes of him" with whom she had to do. (Heb_4:13) Put the offering of memorial in her hands. That she herself might present, as it were, the fruits of her life before God, and challenge investigation of them. Bitter water. It was not literally bitter, but it was so fraught with conviction and judgment as to bring bitter suffering on the guilty.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 before Yahweh
before Yahweh
"in the presence of Yahweh"
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grain offering of suspicion
See how you translated this phrase in Numbers 5:15.
if you have not gone astray
The words "gone astray" is an idiom that means "to be unfaithful." AT: "if you have not been unfaithful to your husband" (See: Idiom)
and committed impurity
"by committing impurity." This phrase refers to "committing adultery."
you will be free from this bitter water
The phrase to "be free" from something means to not be harmed by it. AT: "this bitter water will not harm you, though it is able to" (See: Idiom)
this bitter water that can bring a curse
Here the bitter water is described as being able to bring a curse. This means that when the woman drinks the water it cause her to be unable to bear children, if she is guilty. AT: "this bitter water can be a curse to you" (See: Personification)
translationWords
curse
oath
had relations with
astray
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.