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Good News Translation

Numbers 5:15

In either case the man shall take his wife to the priest. He shall also take the required offering of two pounds of barley flour, but he shall not pour any olive oil on it or put any incense on it, because it is an offering from a suspicious husband, made to bring the truth to light.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Adultery;   Barley;   Frankincense;   Husband;   Jealousy;   Measure;   Offerings;   Priest;   Self-Incrimination;   Wife;   Women;   Thompson Chain Reference - Agriculture;   Agriculture-Horticulture;   Barley;   Frankincense;   Grain;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Meat-Offerings;   Offerings;   Priests;   Woman;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Adultery;   Ephah;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Adultery;   Husband;   Jealousy;   Oath;   Priest;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Evil;   Jealousy;   Offerings and Sacrifices;   Priest, Priesthood;   Woman;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Adultery;   Barley;   Jealousy Offering;   Jealousy, Waters of;   Oil;   Water of Jealousy;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Adultery;   Oil;   Priest;   Water of Jealousy;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bitter Water;   Court Systems;   Hammurabi;   Jealousy;   Jealousy, Ordeal of;   Judge (Office);   Sex, Biblical Teaching on;   Woman;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Jealousy;   Magic, Divination, and Sorcery;   Marriage;   Sacrifice and Offering;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Dropsy;   Nazirite;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Adultery;   Barley;   Jealousy,;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Adultery;   Measures;   Oil;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Adultery;   Meat Offering;   Water of Jealousy;   Weights and Measures;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Barley;   Priest;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Frankincense;   Jealousy;   Memorial;   Swell;   Talmud;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Abner of Burgos;   Abrogation of Laws;   Adultery;   'Akabia ben Mahalalel;   Barley;   Commandments, the 613;   Flour;   Hammurabi;   Hezekiah ben Parnak;   Manuscripts;   Marriage;   Meal-Offering;   Mishnah;   Nashim;   'Omer;   Ordeal;   Sacrifice;   Sidra;   Soṭah;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
then the man shall bring his wife to the Kohen, and shall bring her offering for her: the tenth part of an efah 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.
King James Version
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.
Lexham English Bible
he will bring his wife to the priest. And he will bring her offering for her, one-tenth of an ephah of flour. He will not pour oil on it, and he will not put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembering, a reminding of guilt.
New Century Version
he should take her to the priest. The husband must also take an offering for her of two quarts of barley flour. He must not pour oil or incense on it, because this is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of remembrance. It is to find out if she is guilty.
New English Translation
then the man must bring his wife to the priest, and he must bring the offering required for her, one tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he must not pour olive oil on it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of suspicion, a grain offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Amplified Bible
then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring as an offering for her, a tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it [the symbols of favor and joy], because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a memorial grain offering, a reminder of [the consequences of] wickedness.
New American Standard Bible
the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as an offering for her a tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of reminder, a reminder of wrongdoing.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then shall the man bring his wife to the Priest, and bring her offering with her, the tenth part of an Ephah of barly meale, but he shal not powre oyle vpon it, nor put incense thereon: for it is an offring of ielousie, an offring for a remembrance, calling the sinne to minde:
Legacy Standard Bible
the man shall then bring his wife to the priest and shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, a reminder of iniquity.
Contemporary English Version
He must take his wife to the priest, together with two pounds of ground barley as an offering to find out if she is guilty. No olive oil or incense is to be put on that offering.
Complete Jewish Bible
he is to bring his wife to the cohen, along with the offering for her, two quarts of barley flour on which he has not poured olive oil or put frankincense, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a grain offering for remembering, for recalling guilt to mind.
Darby Translation
—then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, a tenth part of an ephah of barley-meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an oblation of jealousy, a memorial oblation, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Easy-to-Read Version
If that happens, he must take his wife to the priest. The husband must also take an offering of 8 cups of barley flour. He must not pour oil or incense on the barley flour. This barley flour is a grain offering to the Lord that is given because the husband is jealous. This offering will show that he thinks his wife has been unfaithful to him.
English Standard Version
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.
George Lamsa Translation
Then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring as his offering a tenth part of an ephah of barley flour; and he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense upon it; for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering for a memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Christian Standard Bible®
then the man is to bring his wife to the priest. He is also to bring an offering for her of two quarts of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering for remembrance to draw attention to guilt.
Literal Translation
then the man shall bring his wife in to the priest, and he shall bring in her offering for her, a tenth of an ephah of barley meal. He shall not pour oil on it, nor shall he put frankincense on it, for it is a food offering of jealousy,a food offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
then shal he brynge her vnto the prest, and brynge an offerynge for her, euen the tenth parte of an Epha of barlye meele, and shal poure no oyle theron, ner put frankensence vpon it: for it is an offerynge of gelousy, and an offeringe of remembraunce, that remembreth synne.
American Standard Version
then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and shall bring her oblation 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 a meal-offering of jealousy, a meal-offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Bible in Basic English
Then let him take her to the priest, offering for her the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal, without oil or perfume; for it is a meal offering of a bitter spirit, a meal offering keeping wrongdoing in mind.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then let the man bring his wyfe vnto the priest, and bring her offeryng with her, the tenth part of an Epha of barly meale: but let hym put no oyle vpon it, nor put frankensence theron, for it is an offeryng of gelousie, an offeryng for a remembraunce, causyng the sinne to be thought vpon.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and 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 a meal-offering of jealousy, a meal-offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
King James Version (1611)
Then shall the man bring his wife vnto the Priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an Ephah of barley meale: hee shall powre no oyle vpon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of ielousie, an offering of memoriall, bringing iniquitie to remembrance:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
then shall the man bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring his gift for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley-meal: he shall not pour oil upon it, neither shall he put frankincense upon it; for it is a sacrifice of jealousy, a sacrifice of memorial, recalling sin to remembrance.
English Revised Version
then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and shall bring her oblation 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 a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Berean Standard Bible
then he is to bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring for her an offering of a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He is not to pour oil over it or put frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, an offering of memorial as a reminder of iniquity.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
the man schal brynge hir to the preest, and he schal offre an offryng for hir `the tenthe part of a mesure clepid satum of barli meele; he schal not schede oyle ther onne, nethir he schal putte encense, for it is the sacrifice of gelousie, and an offryng enquerynge auowtrye.
Young's Literal Translation
`Then hath the man brought in his wife unto the priest, and he hath brought in her offering for her, a tenth of the ephah of barley meal, he doth not pour on it oil, nor doth he put on it frankincense, for it [is] a present of jealousy, a present of memorial, causing remembrance of iniquity.
Update Bible Version
then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her oblation for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is a meal-offering of jealousy, a meal-offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then shall the man bring his wife to 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 upon it; for it [is] an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
World English Bible
then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: the tenth part 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.
New King James Version
then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance.
New Living Translation
the husband must bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do not mix it with olive oil or frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering—an offering to prove whether or not she is guilty.
New Life Bible
then the man must bring his wife to the religious leader. He must bring one-tenth part of a basket of barley as the gift needed for her. He must not pour oil on it. He must not put special perfume on it. For it is a grain gift of jealousy. It is a grain gift to make the sin remembered.
New Revised Standard
then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. And he shall bring the offering required for her, one-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.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
then shall the man bring in his wife unto the priest, and shall bring in her offering for her, the tenth of an ephah of the meal of barley, - he shall not pour thereon oil, nor put thereon frankincense, for a jealousy gift, it is, a reminding gift bringing to mind iniquity.
Douay-Rheims Bible
He shall bring her to the priest, and shall offer an oblation for her, the tenth part of a measure of barley meal: he shall not pour oil thereon, nor put frankincense upon it: because it is a sacrifice of jealousy, and an oblation searching out adultery.
Revised Standard Version
then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and bring the offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a cereal offering of jealousy, a cereal offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of memorial, a reminder of iniquity.

Contextual Overview

11 The Lord commanded Moses 12to give the Israelites the following instructions. It may happen that a man becomes suspicious that his wife is unfaithful to him and has defiled herself by having intercourse with another man. But the husband may not be certain, for his wife may have kept it secret—there was no witness, and she was not caught in the act. Or it may happen that a husband becomes suspicious of his wife, even though she has not been unfaithful. 15 In either case the man shall take his wife to the priest. He shall also take the required offering of two pounds of barley flour, but he shall not pour any olive oil on it or put any incense on it, because it is an offering from a suspicious husband, made to bring the truth to light. 16 The priest shall bring the woman forward and have her stand in front of the altar. 17 He shall pour some holy water into a clay bowl and take some of the earth that is on the floor of the Tent of the Lord 's presence and put it in the water to make it bitter. 18 Then he shall loosen the woman's hair and put the offering of flour in her hands. In his hands the priest shall hold the bowl containing the bitter water that brings a curse. 19 Then the priest shall make the woman agree to this oath spoken by the priest: "If you have not committed adultery, you will not be harmed by the curse that this water brings. 20 But if you have committed adultery, 21 may the Lord make your name a curse among your people. May he cause your genital organs to shrink and your stomach to swell up. 22 May this water enter your stomach and cause it to swell up and your genital organs to shrink." The woman shall respond, "I agree; may the Lord do so."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

her offering for her: This coarse offering, without oil or frankincense, implied the baseness of the crime of which the woman was suspected, and the mournful state of her family. It was not an atoning sacrifice, but an oblation for a memorial, as solemnly referring the decision to God, and calling upon him either to acquit or punish. Leviticus 5:11, Hosea 3:2

bringing: 1 Kings 17:18, Ezekiel 29:16, Hebrews 10:3

Reciprocal: Numbers 5:18 - and put Numbers 5:25 - priest Numbers 5:29 - when a wife goeth Ezekiel 21:23 - call

Cross-References

1 Chronicles 1:2
Kenan the father of Mahalalel, Mahalalel the father of Jared.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest,.... Not to the high priest but to a common priest, anyone then officiating in his course; for there was a jealousy offering to be offered up before the Lord upon the altar, which none but a priest might do; and besides, the whole process in this affair was to be carried, on by him: according to the Misnah n, the man brought his wife first to the sanhedrim, or court of judicature in the place where he lived; before whom, as Maimonides o says, he proved by witnesses that he had warned his wife of being in private with such a man, and yet she had done it again; and whereas she insisted on her chastity, he desired that the bitter waters might be given her, that the truth might appear; and then they sent him with two disciples of the wise men, to the great sanhedrim at Jerusalem, where the trial was made; who, in order to bring her too confession, endeavoured to terrify her, as they do persons in capital cases, and finding this wilt not do, then they used smooth words, saying, my daughter, perhaps much wine was the occasion of it, or much laughter, c.

and he shall bring her offering for her: not the priest, but her husband, and that whether he is willing or not, as Aben Ezra who also observes, that it may be interpreted, with her, or for her sake, not to make any expiation for any fault of his, that when he first observed her immodesty, did not reprove her; for the offering, though brought by him, was not his, but his wife's, and not to expiate her sin, but to bring it to remembrance, as is after expressed:

the tenth [part] of an ephah of barley meal; which was an omer,

Exodus 16:36, the quantity of manna for one man every day, Exodus 16:16, and the quantity of flour in the daily meat offering, Exodus 29:40; only that was of fine wheaten flour; this of barley, the food of beasts, as the Targum of Jonathan remarks; and R. Gamaliel in the Misnah p says, that as her deed was the deed of a beast, so her offering was the food of a beast; and this is observed by Jarchi and Aben Ezra on the text, as the reason of barley being used in this offering: some say it was a symbol of her impudence, others of her being little at home, as the barley is not long under ground q; the true reason, it may be, was for her humiliation, being vile, and mean, hence it follows:

he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; as used to be oft meat offerings, denoting their acceptableness to God, Leviticus 2:1; the reason seems to be, because these were tokens of joy and gladness, whereas this was a mournful affair to the husband, that he should have any cause of suspicion and jealousy, to the wife that she should be suspected, and to the whole family on that account:

for it [is] an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance; if guilty of it, and therefore oil and frankincense were forbidden in this kind of offering as in a sin offering, Leviticus 5:11.

n Ut supra, (Misn. Bava Kama, c. 9.) sect. 3, 4. o Hilchot Sotah, c. 3. sect. 1. p Sotah, c. 2. sect. 1. q Apud Muis. in loc.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The trial of jealousy. Since the crime of adultery is especially defiling and destructive of the very foundations of social order, the whole subject is dealt with at a length proportionate to its importance. The process prescribed has lately been strikingly illustrated from an Egyptian “romance,” which refers to the time of Rameses the Great, and may therefore well serve to illustrate the manners and customs of the Mosaic times. This mode of trial, like several other ordinances, was adopted by Moses from existing and probably very ancient and widely spread institutions.

Numbers 5:15

The offering was to be of the cheapest and coarsest kind, barley (compare 2 Kings 7:1, 2 Kings 7:16, 2 Kings 7:18), representing the abused condition of the suspected woman. It was, like the sin-offering Leviticus 5:11, to be made without oil and frankincense, the symbols of grace and acceptableness. The woman herself stood with head uncovered Numbers 5:18, in token of her shame.

Numbers 5:17

The dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle - To set forth the fact that the water was endued with extraordinary power by Him who dwelt in the tabernacle. Dust is an emblem of a state of condemnation Genesis 3:14; Micah 7:17.

Numbers 5:19

Gone aside ... - literally, “gone astray from” thy husband by uncleanness; compare Hosea 4:12.

Numbers 5:23

Blot them out with the bitter water - In order to transfer the curses to the water. The action was symbolic. Travelers speak of the natives of Africa as still habitually seeking to obtain the full force of a written charm by drinking the water into which they have washed it.

Numbers 5:24

Shall cause the woman to drink - Thus was symbolised both her full acceptance of the hypothetical curse (compare Ezekiel 3:1-3; Jeremiah 15:16; Revelation 10:9), and its actual operation upon her if she should be guilty (compare Psalms 109:18).

Numbers 5:26

The memorial thereof - See the marginal reference. “Memorial” here is not the same as “memorial” in Numbers 5:15.

Numbers 5:27

Of itself, the drink was not noxious; and could only produce the effects here described by a special interposition of God. We do not read of any instance in which this ordeal was resorted to: a fact which may be explained either (with the Jews) as a proof of its efficacy, since the guilty could not be brought to face its terrors at all, and avoided them by confession; or more probably by the license of divorce tolerated by the law of Moses. Since a husband could put away his wife at pleasure, a jealous man would naturally prefer to take this course with a suspected wife rather than to call public attention to his own shame by having recourse to the trial of jealousy. The trial by red water, which bears a general resemblance to that here prescribed by Moses, is still in use among the tribes of Western Africa.


 
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