Numbers 5:21-23
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
21 so shall the priest adjure the woman with this imprecation—“may the Lord make you a curse and malediction[a] among your people by causing your uterus to fall and your belly to swell! 22 May this water, then, that brings a curse, enter your bowels to make your belly swell and your uterus fall!”(A) And the woman shall say, “Amen, amen!”[b] 23 The priest shall put these curses in writing and shall then wash them off into the water of bitterness,
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 5:21 Curse and malediction: the woman’s name would be used in curses and oaths to invoke a similar misfortune on another person or on oneself. Cf. Is 65:15; Jer 29:22.
- 5:22 Amen: a Hebrew word meaning “certainly, truly,” used to give assent to a statement, a curse, a blessing, a prayer, or the like, in the sense of “so be it.”
Numbers 5:21-23
New International Version
21 here the priest is to put the woman under this curse(A)—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse[a] among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. 22 May this water(B) that brings a curse(C) enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.”
“‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.(D)”
23 “‘The priest is to write these curses on a scroll(E) and then wash them off into the bitter water.
Footnotes
- Numbers 5:21 That is, may he cause your name to be used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, may others see that you are cursed; similarly in verse 27.
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