Old Testament

New Testament

Numbers 5:11-22 Catholic Public Domain Version (CPDV)

11. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

12. "Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: The man whose wife will have gone astray, and, disdaining her husband,

13. will have slept with another man, and if her husband cannot discover it, but the adultery is secret, and if it cannot be proved by witnesses, because she was not caught in the shameful act,

14. if the spirit of jealousy stirs up the husband against his wife, who either has been polluted or is being assailed with a false suspicion,

15. he shall bring her to the priest, and he shall offer an oblation for her, a tenth part of native barley meal. He shall not pour oil over it, nor shall he place frankincense on it, because it is a sacrifice for jealousy, or an oblation investigating adultery.

16. Therefore, the priest shall offer it, and he shall set it in the sight of the Lord.

17. And he shall take up holy water in an earthen vessel, and he shall cast a little earth from the pavement of the tabernacle into it.

18. And while the woman stands before the Lord, he shall uncover her head, and he shall place over her hands the sacrifice of recollection and oblation of jealousy. But he shall take hold of the most bitter waters, in which he has gathered curses with loathing.

19. And he shall bind her by an oath, and he shall say: 'If another man has not slept with you, and if you have not been polluted by forsaking the bed of your husband, these most bitter waters, into which I have gathered curses, shall not harm you.

20. But if you have turned away from your husband, and also have been defiled, and have lain together with another man,

21. these curses shall be thrown upon you: May the Lord turn you into a curse and an example among all his people. May he cause your thigh to rot, and may your abdomen swell up and burst out.

22. May the cursed waters enter into your stomach, and may your womb swell and your thigh rot.' And the woman shall respond: 'Amen, amen.'

Read complete chapter Numbers 5