Numbers 5:27 kjv
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.
Numbers 5:27 nkjv
When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people.
Numbers 5:27 niv
If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse.
Numbers 5:27 esv
And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people.
Numbers 5:27 nlt
If she has defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that brings on the curse will cause bitter suffering. Her abdomen will swell and her womb will shrink, and her name will become a curse among her people.
Numbers 5 27 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 3:16 | "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain..." | Curse involving conception/reproduction. |
| Deut 28:18 | "Cursed shall be the fruit of your body..." | Divine curse affecting offspring/fertility. |
| Deut 28:22 | "The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever and inflammation..." | Physical diseases as a result of curse. |
| Prov 6:27-29 | "Can a man take fire to his bosom, And his clothes not be burned?... so is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;" | Consequences of adultery, natural and spiritual. |
| Prov 7:26-27 | "For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death." | Destruction brought by immorality. |
| Prov 11:3 | "The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the treacherous will destroy them." | Treachery brings destruction. |
| Jer 2:19 | "Your own wickedness will correct you, And your backslidings will rebuke you." | Iniquity bringing internal consequences. |
| Hos 4:10 | "For they shall eat, but not have enough; They shall commit harlotry, but not increase; Because they have ceased obeying the Lord." | Immorality linked to barrenness/lack of fruit. |
| Ps 35:26 | "Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who rejoice at my hurt..." | Public shame and disgrace for wickedness. |
| Ps 90:8 | "You have set our iniquities before You, Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance." | God reveals hidden sin. |
| Eccl 12:14 | "For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil." | All actions, secret or not, face judgment. |
| 1 Cor 4:5 | "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts." | God alone reveals hidden truths. |
| 1 Cor 6:18 | "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body." | Sin against one's own body through immorality. |
| Heb 4:13 | "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." | God's all-seeing knowledge, even of secret sin. |
| Heb 13:4 | "Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." | Divine judgment specifically on adultery. |
| Gal 3:10 | "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things..." | The consequence of not upholding the law - curse. |
| Gal 3:13 | "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us..." | Christ takes the curse of sin. |
| Rom 6:23 | "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." | The ultimate consequence of sin. |
| Rom 1:24-27 | "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts..." | Consequences of rebellion and unrighteousness leading to physical degradation. |
| Jas 4:4 | "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?..." | Spiritual adultery leading to spiritual consequences. |
| Rev 2:22-23 | "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation..." | Divine judgment against spiritual fornication/immorality. |
| Lam 3:51 | "My eyes gush with tears Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people." | Grief and physical suffering as consequence of unfaithfulness. |
| Isa 26:11 | "But they will see and be put to shame because of their envy toward Your people." | Shame brought upon those opposing God or His laws. |
Numbers 5 verses
Numbers 5 27 Meaning
Numbers 5:27 describes the specific, divinely ordained consequence for a woman proven guilty of adultery through the ritual of the bitter water. If she was indeed defiled and committed trespass against her husband, the water, infused with a curse, would miraculously cause her internal organs to be affected (her belly to swell and her reproductive ability or life-giving function, represented by her thigh, to fail), making her a public disgrace and an example of divine judgment among her people.
Numbers 5 27 Context
Numbers chapter 5 establishes regulations concerning holiness within the Israelite camp, specifically addressing ritual uncleanness and the maintaining of covenant purity. It begins with instructions for expelling defiled persons, followed by laws regarding restitution for wrongdoings against others, and then the Nazarite vow. Numbers 5:11-31, specifically, outlines the unique "Ordeal of the Bitter Water" (also known as the "Jealousy Offering" or "Ordeal of Sotah"). This ritual provided a divinely appointed mechanism to discern guilt or innocence when a husband suspected his wife of adultery but lacked definitive proof. The preceding verses (Num 5:12-26) detail the priest's preparation of the sacred water with dust from the tabernacle floor and the woman's oath, invoking a curse upon herself if guilty. Verse 27 describes the precise and dire physical and social outcome if the woman was indeed guilty. The purpose of this law was not only to punish infidelity but also to act as a powerful deterrent, protect marital integrity, and maintain the moral and spiritual purity required within a people directly in covenant with a holy God.
Numbers 5 27 Word analysis
- Then he shall make the woman drink: The Hebrew indicates the priest, acting on behalf of God, administers the ritual. This highlights the sacred, not superstitious, nature of the ordeal; it's mediated by the consecrated priesthood.
- the water: Specifically "מֵי הַמָּרִים הַמְאָרְרִים" (mei hammariym hammearerim) – "the bitter, curse-bringing waters." It's not the inherent properties of the water itself that cause the effect, but the divine power invoked through the priest's blessing and the embedded curse-oath. The water acts as a conduit or medium for God's supernatural judgment.
- and it shall come to pass: Signifies a divinely determined outcome, emphasizing certainty and the inevitability of the judgment if guilt is present.
- if she is defiled: Hebrew "טָמְאָה" (tam'ah), meaning to be ceremonially or morally unclean, here specifically referring to being rendered impure by committing adultery. It implies a breaking of the covenant and purity.
- and has committed trespass against her husband: Hebrew "מָעֲלָה מַעַל" (ma'alat ma'al), literally "she has committed treachery of treachery" or "acted unfaithfully with unfaithfulness." This emphasizes the profound betrayal of trust and violation of the marital covenant. It underscores the severity of the act beyond just a physical transgression.
- that the water that brings the curse: Reiterates the function of the water. Its potency comes from the activated curse-oath associated with the divine judgment, not from any natural ingredients.
- shall enter into her to become bitter: Hebrew "בָּאוּ בָהּ לְמָרִים" (bav'u vah lemariym), "they [the waters] shall come into her for bitterness." The "bitterness" refers not only to taste but also to the grievous, painful, and sorrowful effects of the curse. This internal effect indicates that God judges the inner, hidden sin.
- and her belly shall swell: Hebrew "וְצָבְתָה בִטְנָהּ" (vetsavtah bitnah). "בֶּטֶן" (beten) refers to the belly or womb. "צָבָה" (tsabah) means to swell, bulge, or become distended. This points to a visible, physical manifestation of the internal judgment, possibly involving miscarriage, an aborted pregnancy, or an unnatural and diseased distension of the abdomen.
- and her thigh shall rot: Hebrew "וְנָפְלָה יְרֵכָהּ" (venafelah yerekhah). "יָרֵךְ" (yarekh) primarily means "thigh" but is often used euphemistically or synecdochically for the loins, generative organs, or reproductive ability (cf. Gen 46:26, Exod 1:5, Judg 8:30 for descendants coming from the loins). "נָפַל" (nafal) means "to fall" but in this context suggests wasting away, failing, or rendering barren/impotent. It indicates a severe affliction of her reproductive system, leading to sterility or inability to carry a child to term, or even more drastically, the wasting away of flesh around that area. This direct assault on her ability to bear children and perpetuate the lineage is a significant consequence in a culture valuing progeny.
- and the woman shall be a curse among her people: Hebrew "וְהָיְתָה הָאִשָּׁה לְאָלָה בְּקֶרֶב עַמָּהּ" (vehayetah ha'ishshah le'alah beqerev 'ammah). "אָלָה" ('alah) refers to an oath, imprecation, or curse. She becomes a living embodiment of the divine curse, a visible sign and warning for others. This entails severe public shame, ostracism, and being used as an example when someone invokes a curse on another ("May you become like that woman!"). Her name would be used as a proverbial term for judgment and disgrace.
Numbers 5 27 Bonus section
The physical manifestations described in Num 5:27 are considered miraculous rather than caused by any chemical property of the water; the water serves merely as the medium for God's judgment. This points to God's active involvement in maintaining purity within Israel, His capacity to know hidden sins, and His direct intervention in the earthly realm. The emphasis on the reproductive organs underscores the foundational importance of procreation and faithfulness within marriage in Israelite society and the covenant. Some interpretations suggest the absence of these symptoms, upon drinking the water, served to clear the name of an innocent woman, preventing unfounded suspicion from ruining her life. Thus, the ordeal protected the innocent as much as it judged the guilty. The gravity of the curse emphasizes the purity of God and the seriousness of covenant unfaithfulness.
Numbers 5 27 Commentary
Numbers 5:27 presents the climactic outcome of the Jealousy Offering, serving as a powerful demonstration of divine justice within Israel's covenant community. The physical effects—a swollen belly and decaying thigh—are supernatural manifestations of God's direct intervention. They are not natural properties of the water itself but are decreed by the Almighty as punishment for hidden, unconfessed adultery. The symptoms are widely interpreted as a targeted judgment against the woman's reproductive capacity, hitting at the very core of marital fidelity and the lineage within a patriarchal society. A swollen belly could imply a failed pregnancy or a painful internal disease, while a "rotting thigh" would mean sterility, miscarriage, or the severe decay of reproductive organs, incapacitating her from bearing children and fulfilling the marital purpose. Furthermore, the social consequence of "becoming a curse" ensured public disgrace, ostracism, and served as a vivid object lesson for others, underscoring the severe consequences of violating God's marital covenant. This ordinance revealed the deep sanctity of marriage, highlighted God's omniscience in exposing hidden sin, and His sovereignty in enacting justice where human proof was absent, thereby safeguarding purity within His holy camp. It provided a stark deterrent against unfaithfulness while also allowing an innocent woman to be vindicated and her reputation restored.