Numbers 5:23-31 · Bible study
Numbers 5:23-31 Commentary: The Curse Inscribed and Washed into Water
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the theological meaning of the jealous wife's ordeal: why the priest wrote curses then washed them into the bitter water.
Research Summary
- Meaning: God provides a supernatural ordeal to reveal hidden adultery and vindicate the innocent.
- Key words: curses (אָלָה), blot out (מָחָה), bitter (מַר), jealousy (קִנְאָה), bear iniquity (נָשָׂא עָוֹן).
- Main debate: Was the water physically harmful (e.g., a poison using dust and ink) or purely supernatural? Commentators are divided; most see it as divinely activated.
- Theological theme: Divine justice, hidden sin, covenant faithfulness, God as defender of the innocent.
- Best use: Understanding OT justice and God’s concern for marital fidelity; a background for NT themes of judgment and grace.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
23And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.
24He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause her bitter suffering.
25The priest shall take from her hand the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.
26Then the priest is to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar; after that he is to have the woman drink the water.
27When he has made her drink the water, if she has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water that brings a curse will enter her and cause bitter suffering; her belly will swell, her thigh will shrivel, and she will become accursed among her people.
28But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children.
29This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,
30or when a feeling of jealousy comes over a husband and he suspects his wife. He is to have the woman stand before the LORD, and the priest is to apply to her this entire law.
31The husband will be free from guilt, but the woman shall bear her iniquity.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
23“‘The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall wipe them into the water of bitterness.
24He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.
25The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal offering before Yahweh, and bring it to the altar.
26The priest shall take a handful of the meal offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.
27When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse among her people.
28If the woman isn’t defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive offspring.
29“‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled,
30or when the spirit of jealousy comes on a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before Yahweh, and the priest shall execute on her all this law.
31The man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.’”
KJV King James Version 1769
23And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:
24And 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.
25Then 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:
26And 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.
27And 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.
28And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;
30Or 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.
31Then shall the man be guiltless from iniquity, and this woman shall bear her iniquity.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
23And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness:
24and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causeth the curse; and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.
25And the priest shall take the meal-offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal-offering before Jehovah, and bring it unto the altar:
26and the priest shall take a handful of the meal-offering, as the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.
27And when he hath made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter, and her body shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
28And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goeth aside, and is defiled;
30or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then shall he set the woman before Jehovah, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.
31And the man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
23`And the priest hath written these execrations in a book, and hath blotted them out with the bitter waters,
24and hath caused the woman to drink the bitter waters which cause the curse, and the waters which cause the curse have entered into her for bitter things.
25`And the priest hath taken out of the hand of the woman the present of jealousy, and hath waved the present before Jehovah, and hath brought it near unto the altar;
26and the priest hath taken a handful of the present, its memorial, and hath made perfume on the altar, and afterwards doth cause the woman to drink the water:
27yea, he hath caused her to drink the water, and it hath come to pass, if she hath been defiled, and doth commit a trespass against her husband, that the waters which cause the curse have gone into her for bitter things, and her belly hath swelled, and her thigh hath fallen, and the woman hath become an execration in the midst of her people.
28`And if the woman hath not been defiled, and is clean, then she hath been acquitted, and hath been sown with seed.
29`This is the law of jealousies, when a wife turneth aside under her husband, and hath been defiled,
30or when a spirit of jealousy passeth over a man, and he hath been jealous of his wife, then he hath caused the woman to stand before Jehovah, and the priest hath done to her all this law,
31and the man hath been acquitted from iniquity, and that woman doth bear her iniquity.'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
23And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall blot them out with the bitter water,
24and he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that bringeth the curse, that the water that bringeth the curse may enter into her for bitterness.
25And the priest shall take out of the woman's hand the oblation of jealousy, and shall wave the oblation before Jehovah, and shall present it at the altar.
26And the priest shall take a handful of the oblation as a memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar; and afterwards he shall make the woman drink the water.
27And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she have been defiled, and have committed unfaithfulness against her husband, that the water that bringeth the curse shall enter into her, for bitterness, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall shrink; and the woman shall become a curse among her people.
28But if the woman have not been defiled, and be clean, then she shall be clear, and shall conceive seed.
29This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth astray to another instead of her husband and is defiled,
30or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon a man, and he is jealous as regards his wife; then shall he set the woman before Jehovah, and the priest shall do to her according to all this law.
31Then shall the man be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her iniquity.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
23And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and shall wash them out with the most bitter waters, upon which he hath heaped the curses,
24And he shall give them her to drink. And when she hath drunk them up,
25The priest shall take from her hand the sacrifice of jealousy, and shall elevate it before the Lord, and shall put it upon the altar: yet so as first,
26To take a handful of the sacrifice of that which is offered, and burn it upon the altar: and so give the most bitter waters to the woman to drink.
27And when she hath drunk them, if she be defiled, and having despised her husband be guilty of adultery, the malediction shall go through her, and her belly swelling, her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse, and an example to all the people.
28But if she be not defiled, she shall not be hurt, and shall bear children.
29This is the law of jealousy. If a woman hath gone aside from her husband, and be defiled,
30And the husband stirred up by the spirit of jealousy bring her before the Lord, and the priest do to her according to all things that are here written:
31The husband shall be blameless, and she shall bear her iniquity.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Numbers 5:23
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions recognize this ritual as a divinely ordained means of resolving cases of suspected adultery when evidence is lacking. Adam Clarke notes that the writing and blotting out of curses made the oath tangible, the woman literally drank the words of the curse, which would bring divine judgment if she was guilty. The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges situates this in the broader ancient practice of trial by ordeal, where a visible outcome was attributed to a divine verdict. Gill emphasizes the solemnity: the woman stood before Yahweh, answered 'Amen, Amen,' and then drank water that carried the curse. All agree that the outcome, swelling or health, was understood as a direct act of God, not a natural effect of the water. The ritual provided a pathway for the innocent to be cleared and for hidden sin to be exposed.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal divine test: The text presents the water as having direct physical consequences caused by God based on the woman's actual guilt. Support is found in the oracles of blessing and curse in the covenant.
- Psychological deterrent: The ritual's terror could induce confession or psychosomatic effects. This view is supported by the common use of ordeals in cultural anthropology.
- Cultural accommodation: God adapted an existing Near Eastern practice, purifying it of idolatry and placing it under His authority, as argued by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown.
What is clear: God is the ultimate judge of hidden sin, and He cares about faithfulness in marriage, providing a way for the innocent to be vindicated and the guilty to face consequences.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose of the ordeal | This was a divinely sanctioned means to resolve cases of suspected adultery when no witnesses existed. | Some see it as a literal supernatural test: God would physically harm or bless. Others view it as primarily a psychological deterrent: the terrifying ritual would cause guilty women to confess or suffer psychosomatic symptoms. |
| Nature of the 'bitter water' | The water carried the curse written by the priest and was understood as a vehicle for God's judgment. | Adam Clarke and others suggest the water may have contained a natural bitter substance, but most commentators emphasize its supernatural efficacy. The Jerusalem Talmud records that the water's power depended on the priest's true intent and the woman's actual guilt. |
| The husband's role and guilt | If the woman is found guilty, she bears her iniquity; the husband is cleared of any wrongdoing in bringing the accusation. | Some traditions question whether the husband should be automatically 'free from iniquity' (v31) given that his jealousy might be unreasonable. Generations of Jewish commentators debated whether he was required to bring the offering if he harbored malice. |
| Applicability for Christians | This law is not prescribed for the church; it belongs to Israel's theocratic system. | Catholic and Orthodox interpreters have seen it as a type of God's judgment in the sacrament of confession; Protestant commentators emphasize that its purpose was limited to the old covenant context. Charismatic traditions occasionally draw principles about divine testing. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Numbers 5:23-31 sits within a section of purity and social order in Israel’s wilderness camp. The ordeal of jealousy addressed cases where a husband suspected adultery but had no witnesses. Such ordeals were common in the ancient Near East; the Cambridge Bible notes parallels in Africa and medieval Europe. Israel’s version, however, was stripped of idolatrous elements and placed under Yahweh’s direct authority.
The location 'before Yahweh' points to the tabernacle court, where God’s presence dwelt. The water was holy water from the laver (likely mixed with dust from the tabernacle floor, as verses 17-18 describe). The priest wrote the curses, imprecations invoking God to act, on a scroll, then washed them into the water. Clarke remarks that the ink used in the East was easily erased, so the words literally passed into the water. The woman drank this mixture, along with the grain offering of jealousy, a humble barley meal without oil or incense, symbolizing suspicion and humility.
The ritual was a dual-edged instrument: it could bring a curse (belly swelling, thigh falling) or a blessing (health and fertility). The word qin’ah (jealousy) carries both negative envy and legitimate protective zeal. The law protected wives from a husband’s unchecked suspicion, he could not simply divorce or harm her without proof, but it also held her accountable before God. Early Jewish tradition held that the ordeal ceased after the destruction of the Second Temple, since its efficacy depended on the divine presence in the sanctuary.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources indicate no significant textual variants for Numbers 5:23-31. The Hebrew manuscripts are consistent, with only minor scribal differences in spelling (e.g., qin’ah appears in plural form as ha-kena’ot, “the jealousies,” in verses 29 and 30). The ancient translations (Septuagint, Vulgate) follow the Hebrew closely, though the Septuagint sometimes paraphrases the physical effects. Overall, the ritual instructions are stable in the textual tradition.
Reception History
Jewish tradition recorded that the ordeal of the bitter water ceased after the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70, since the presence of God required the sanctuary. The Talmud (Sotah) contains extensive discussions of the ritual, including debates about whether it could be applied if the husband had himself committed adultery. Early Christian writers like Origen allegorized the bitter water as the bitterness of repentance or the testing of faith. Reformation commentators such as Calvin and Luther stressed the justice and mercy of God in the law, noting that the ritual prevented private vengeance and protected the innocent. Modern scholarship by men such as Jacob Milgrom has examined the passage in light of ancient Near Eastern treaties and purity systems, seeing in it a profound statement about God’s concern for marital covenant.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- God sees the hidden. The ritual vividly declares that no sin is concealed from Yahweh. The written curse, washed into water and drunk, makes the invisible visible, God will reveal what human eyes cannot see.
- The water brings either curse or blessing. The same water carries the outcome. For the guilty it is bitter, for the innocent it is harmless and even life-giving. The God who judges also vindicates.
- Justice with mercy. The husband must bring his wife before a priest, not take vengeance himself. The innocent are cleared and blessed; the guilty are exposed but not killed outright. The system curbs private violence and entrusts judgment to God.
Five-point outline
- The husband brings a grain offering: humility before the altar.
- The woman stands before Yahweh, alone accountable.
- The curses are written, blotted, and mixed with holy water, the word of God becomes a literal test.
- Drinking the water: the guilty suffer physical consequences; the innocent are unharmed and promised children.
- The result: God’s verdict is final. The man is cleared of guilt; the woman bears her own iniquity or goes free.
Illustration hooks
- A relationship torn by suspicion where there is no proof. How does a community handle that justly without destroying either person?
- Someone falsely accused, longing for vindication but having no way to prove their innocence. This passage shows God can defend the innocent.
- The concept of “drinking the consequences” of your own actions: the ritual makes that literal.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this mean we should still use ordeals today? (No, it was specific to Israel’s theocratic setting; we trust civil justice and God’s final judgment.)
- Why does the woman bear the whole burden? The husband is cleared automatically. What about his potential sin of suspicion?
- What does this say about God’s view of marriage and faithfulness?
Leading a Discussion
This ancient ritual reveals that God cares about hidden sin and protects the innocent. Though we do not practice this ordeal today, the principles of divine omniscience, justice, and mercy remain. Use these questions to dig into the passage together.
Discussion questions
- Read Numbers 5:23-31. What physical actions does the priest perform, and why do you think each step matters?
- The curses are written in a book and then washed into the water. What might this act symbolize about the connection between God’s word and the judgment or blessing the woman receives?
- Notice that the woman is made to stand “before Yahweh.” How does this setting underscore the seriousness of the moment?
- If she is innocent, the water does not harm her and she will conceive. If guilty, her body suffers. What does this tell us about the God who oversees this test?
- Why do you think the husband is declared free from iniquity at the end (v31), while the guilty woman bears her iniquity? What message does this send about the community’s responsibility?
- How does this passage challenge our modern assumptions about proof, justice, and God’s involvement in daily relationships?
- In what ways does the New Testament better reveal how God judges hidden sin and vindicates the faithful (e.g., through Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection)?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 17:14 | Yahweh said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky.” |
| Deuteronomy 31:19 | “Now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. |
| II Chronicles 34:24 | “Yahweh says, ‘Behold, I will bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah. |
| Job 31:35 | oh that I had one to hear me! Behold, here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me! Let the accuser write my indictment! |
| Psalms 51:1 | For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. |
| Psalms 51:9 | Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all of my iniquities. |
| Isaiah 43:25 | I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins. |
| Isaiah 44:22 | I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes a rabbinic tradition that the trial by the waters of jealousy was omitted after the Babylonian captivity because adulteries had become so common they feared profaning God's name by too frequent appeals. He also explains that the curses were written with washable ink and blotted into the water, so the woman literally drank the words of the execration.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary treats the ritual as a genuine trial by ordeal, common across many ancient cultures. The potion, containing dust from the Tabernacle and the literal words of a curse washed into water, makes the divine verdict visible in the woman's body. A guilty woman suffers physical harm, while an innocent one remains unharmed.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes describe the precise ritual for testing a wife suspected of unfaithfulness: the priest writes curses, blots them into bitter water, and makes her drink it. If guilty, the water brings physical punishment; if innocent, she is cleared and will conceive. The husband bears no blame in this procedure.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that the bitter water had no natural power to cause swelling or decay; the effects came solely from God's supernatural curse. He rejects claims that poison was added, noting that an innocent woman would then be harmed. The ordeal proved God's omniscience and direct judgment.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB explains that this law took a well-known Eastern practice of ordeals for suspected unfaithfulness and freed it from the pagan rituals that surrounded it. By giving it divine sanction in a corrected, purified form, God showed both wisdom and condescension toward a people deeply accustomed to such customs.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the law of jealousy not as a supernatural ordeal but as a psychologically designed procedure. The slow, formal steps create pauses for the woman's conscience to awaken, and the humble barley meal offering simply marks a marriage grown poor. The innocent woman's trust can actually triumph over the jealous husband, shaming him publicly.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that the offering in this ritual deliberately lacks oil and frankincense, which normally make a grain offering festive and joyful. Instead it is a humble, sorrowful ceremony, meant to bring a suspected sin to remembrance. The ritual shows God providing a way to clear the innocent and expose guilt where no witness exists.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley explains that the curses written in a scroll were scraped into the bitter water, so that if the woman was innocent the curses would be blotted out and come to nothing, but if guilty they would take effect. He adds that an innocent woman would then conceive children, and the husband would not be censured for bringing the ordeal.