Numbers

Tells about the Israelites' 40 years in the desert, including their travels and the census of their tribes.

Chapter 5

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead:

*Tell the people of Israel to make sure they remove anyone with a skin disease, anyone with a discharge, and anyone who has become unclean because of touching a dead body from their camp.

3 Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell.

*"Both boys and girls should be kept outside the camp. This is to keep the camp clean, as I live among them."

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.

*The children of Israel followed Moses' instructions. They placed the offending people outside the camp, just as the Lord had told them to do.

5 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

*And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

6 Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the LORD, and that person be guilty;

*Tell the people of Israel, if a man or woman does something wrong like other people do, and it goes against God's rules, and they are found guilty;

7 Then they shall confess 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.

*Then they will admit their wrongdoing: and he must pay back what he stole, plus an extra 20% to the person he hurt.

8 But if the man have 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.

*But if a man doesn't have anyone to pay for the wrong he did, then give that payment to God, to the priest. Along with the special ram used for forgiveness, this will forgive him.

9 And every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring unto the priest, shall be his.

*Any special gift from the Israeli people given to the priest will belong to him.

10 And every man’s hallowed things shall be his: whatsoever any man giveth the priest, it shall be his.

*And whatever a person's sacred items are, they belong to him; anything a person gives to the priest will also belong to him.

11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

*And the Lord spoke to 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,

*Tell the people of Israel, "If a man's wife cheats on him, she commits a wrong."

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;

*A man has secret sexual relations with a woman, hiding it from her husband. She is then impured with no one to witness it or prove it.

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:

*The man becomes very jealous and suspicious of his wife. Either his wife has done something wrong, or maybe she hasn't, but he is still jealous.

15 Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her 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.

*Then, the man will take his wife to the priest, who will give her a special offering - one-tenth of a measure of barley meal without oil or fragrant incense. This is done because it's an offering to reveal jealousy and remember past wrongdoings.

16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:

*The priest will bring her close and place her in front of God.

17 And the priest shall take holy 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:

*The priest will get holy water in a clay container. He will also get some dirt from the floor of the tabernacle and mix it with the water.

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:

*The priest will place the woman in front of God, remove her head covering, and give her the sacrifice gift. This is called the jealousy offering. The priest will also hold the bitter water that brings a curse.

19 And the priest shall charge 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 with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:

*The priest will make the woman promise that no one has slept with her and she hasn't been unclean with someone else besides her husband. If this is true, she won't have to drink the bitter water that brings a curse.

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:

*But if you left your husband for someone else, and if you are unfaithful, and a man slept with you besides your husband:

21 Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;

*Then the priest will ask the woman to promise that she will be cursed. He will say, "May God make you an example of bad luck and a reminder among your people when God causes your thigh to rot and your stomach to swell.

22 And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.

*This water causing the curse will make your stomach bloat and your thigh decay. The woman will agree, saying "Amen, amen."

23 And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:

*The priest will write these punishments in a book and then erase them using the bitter water.

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.

*He will make the woman drink the bitter water that brings the curse. This water will go inside her and make her feel even more bitter.

25 Then the priest 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:

*Then the priest will take the sacrifice for suspicion from the woman's hand, wave it before God, and burn it on the altar.

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.

*The priest will take a small portion of the offering, along with its symbol, and burn it on the altar. Afterward, he will make the woman drink the water.

27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if 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.

*If he makes her drink the water and she is guilty of wronging her husband, the cursed water will make her feel terrible, her stomach will get big and her leg will rot. She will be seen as cursed by everyone around her.

28 And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.

*If the woman is clean and not unclean, she will be free and can have children.

29 This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;

*This means that if a married woman chooses to be with someone other than her husband, it breaks the rules of loyalty, and it's considered wrong.

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.

*When a man becomes jealous and brings his wife to God, the priest will follow the rules in this law to handle the situation.

31 Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.

*Then the person will be free of wrongdoing, and the woman will bear her wrongdoing.

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