Numbers 5
(1) Israel Must Banish Defiled People
Then the Existing One told Moses,
“Tell the Israelites to take the following people and send them away from their camp:
• everyone who has leprosy
• everyone who has a discharge problem
• and everyone who has been contaminated by a corpse.Send those people out of the camp regardless of their gender. Send then away so they don’t contaminate the camp where I live.”
So the Israelites followed the Existing One’s instructions and did what Moses told them.
(5) Repay People You Harm
Later on, the Existing One told Moses,
“Tell the Israelites that whenever someone sins, that person is betraying My trust. That person becomes guilty and needs to admit what he did wrong. He needs to make amends and pay back 100% to the person he wronged, plus an additional 20%. And if the victim doesn’t have any close relatives to receive the repayment, then the offender must pay it back to the Existing One. The offender can bring the payment to the priest in addition to a ram to right his wrongs. The ram will be used to cover the offenses. All the sacred gifts that the Israelites offer to the priest becomes Mine.”
(11) When Someone Suspects their Spouse of Cheating
Then the Existing One told Moses,
“Tell the Israelites that this is what they should do when someone’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to her husband.
“There might be times when a wife has intercourse with another man, but the husband never finds out. Even though she has defined herself, there might not be any witnesses or anyone to catch her in the act. After she defiles herself, a spirit might come over her husband that makes him jealous for his wife. (But sometimes a jealous spirit comes over a husband even when his wife hasn’t defiled herself.) In either case, the husband should then bring his wife to the priest along with an offering of barley flour measuring 10% of a bushel. Tell the husband not to pour any oil on the flour or put incense on it, because it’s a grain offering of jealousy. It will be a reminder of the corruption.
(16) The Accused Spouse Drinks a Cursing Water
“Then the priest will place the woman in front of the Existing One, put some special water in a clay bowl, and sprinkle some dust in it from the floor of God’s house. Then the priest should let the woman’s hair down as she’s standing in front of the Existing One and hand her the grain offering to remind her of the jealousy. As the priest holds the bitter water that brings a curse, he needs to tell the woman to take an oath, saying,
‘If you haven’t slept with anyone, haven’t wandered off into impurity, and you remain under your husband’s authority, then be free from this bitter water that brings a curse—but if you have wandered off when you were supposed to be under your husband’s authority, and if you have become impure, and if you have slept with another man…’
“That’s when the priest needs to have the woman swear with the oath of the curse. He’ll continue telling her,
‘Then the Existing One places a curse on you and takes an oath in the midst of your people. He makes your groin waste away and your belly swollen. This water that brings a curse will go in your belly and make your belly swell and your groin waste away.’
“Then the woman needs to say, ‘So be it.’
(23) Drinking the Water will Reveal the Truth
“Then the priest needs to write the curse on a paper and wash the ink off it into the bitter water. Then he needs to make the woman drink the water so it goes into her body and causes bitterness.
“Then the priest needs to take the grain offering (which is a token of the jealousy) from the woman’s hands, wave it in front of the Existing One, and bring it to the altar. Then the priest needs to take a handful of the grain offering and burn it on the altar. After that, he needs to make her drink the water.
“After she drinks it, her innocence or guilt will be shown by whatever comes to pass. If she really has defiled herself and been unfaithful to her husband, then the water will enter her body and cause bitterness. Her belly will swell, her groin will waste away, and she’ll become a curse among her people… But if she hasn’t defiled herself, and she really is pure, then she’ll be free of the curse and continue having children.
(29) This Procedure Inspires Accountability
“This procedure will be known as ‘the jealousy law.’
“If a wife disregards her husband’s authority and defiles herself, or if the husband feels a jealous spirit come over him, he should make her stand in front of the Existing One so the priest can carry out this procedure. Following this procedure will prevent the husband from doing anything regretful while holding the wife responsible for her twisted actions.”
Note: This procedure resembles what God has the Israelites do when they are caught worshiping the golden calf.