Numbers 5:18

He must untie/unfasten the woman’s hair. Then he must put in her hands the grain that her jealous husband is offering to determine whether she has committed adultery or not. The priest must hold the bowl that contains bitter water that will cause ◄the woman to be cursed/bad things to happen to the woman► if she is guilty.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

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:

In Context

17He must put some sacred water in a clay jar, and then he must put some dirt from the floor of the Sacred Tent into the water.

19The priest must require her to solemnly declare that she will tell the truth. Then he must say to her, “Has another man had sex [EUP] with you? Have you faithfully slept only with your husband or not? If you have not slept with another man, nothing bad will happen to you if you drink the water.

Read all of Numbers 5

Cross References

Numbers 5:15he should take his wife to the priest. He must take along as an offering two quarts/liters of barley flour. The priest must not pour olive oil or incense on it, because this is an offering that the man has brought because he ◄is jealous/wants his wife to sleep only with him►. It is an offering to find out if she is guilty or not. Neither olive oil nor incense should be used because are associated with joy and this is not a time for joy.

Deuteronomy 29:18So be sure that no man or woman or family or tribe that is here today turns away from Yahweh our God, to worship/serve the gods of those nations. Doing that would be like a root of a plant that would grow among you and bear poisonous and bitter fruit [MET].

Proverbs 5:4but the result of being with her will be bitter like gall and injure you as badly, like being cut with a sharp two-edged sword.

Isaiah 38:17Truly, my suffering was good for me; you loved me, and as a result you have rescued me from dying and have also forgiven all my sins.

1 Corinthians 11:6So, if women do not wear coverings over their heads when they pray or speak messages that God gave them, they should let someone shave their heads so that they will be ashamed. But since women are ashamed if someone cuts their hair short or shaves off their hair, they should wear coverings over their heads when they pray or speak messages that God gave them.

Matthew Henry on Numbers 5:12-31

The Bitter Water of Jealousy. ( b. c. 1490.) 11 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 12 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him, 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; 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… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Numbers 5:18