Bible Strands
Numbers 5:16
The priest is to bring the wife forward and have her stand before the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator instructs Moses and the Israelite community during the procedural moment of the jealousy ordeal, when a husband brings his suspected wife to the priest for examination.
The words — The text highlights הִקְרִיב (hik.Riv, "he will bring near") and הֶֽעֱמִידָ֖הּ (he.'e.mi.Da, "he will make stand"), describing the priest's actions of presenting the woman and positioning her before Yahweh.
The thread — This requirement to present a person or offering before God parallels the presentation mandate in Leviticus 1:3, while the theme of divine scrutiny of hidden conduct aligns with Jeremiah 17:10 and the warning against sexual immorality in Hebrews 13:4.
Why it lands — The verse establishes that marital fidelity is subject to divine examination, requiring the accused to stand exposed before God rather than rely on human judgment or private resolution.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the Lord:
Cross-references
- Leviticus 1:3 If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to present an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for its acceptance before the LORD.
- Jeremiah 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- Revelation 2:22 Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds.