Numbers 5:21

and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—‘then may the LORD make you an attested curse among your people by making your thigh shrivel and your belly swell.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The priest addresses a woman suspected of infidelity while administering a formal oath. This moment occurs during a ritual trial to determine her guilt or innocence.

The words — The text specifies הִשְׁבִּיעַ (hish.Bi.a') as "he will make swear" and אָלָה (a.Lah) as "curse." These terms establish the binding and punitive nature of the oath the priest pronounces.

The thread — The text records this formula of a divinely enforced oath in Joshua 6:26 regarding rebuilding a city, 1 Samuel 14:24 concerning Saul's military oath, and Nehemiah 10:29 where the people commit to God's Law.

Why it lands — The passage demands a clear acknowledgment of covenant consequences for breaking marital fidelity. It requires the reader to recognize that sworn oaths carry real, divinely administered outcomes.

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

וְהִשְׁבִּ֨יעַve./hish.Bi.a'and/ he will make swear הַכֹּהֵ֥ןha./ko.Henthe/ priest אֶֽת־'et-<obj.>הָֽאִשָּׁה֮ha./'i.Shahthe/ woman בִּשְׁבֻעַ֣תbi/sh.vu.'Atwith/ [the] oath of הָאָלָה֒ha./'a.Lahthe/ curse וְאָמַ֤רve./'a.Marand/ he will say הַכֹּהֵן֙ha./ko.Henthe/ priest לָֽאִשָּׁ֔הla./'i.Shahto the/ woman יִתֵּ֨ןyi.Tenmay he make יְהוָ֥הYah.wehYahweh אוֹתָ֛ךְ'o.Ta/kh<obj.>/ you לְאָלָ֥הle./'a.Lahinto/ a curse וְלִשְׁבֻעָ֖הve./li/sh.vu.'Ahand/ into/ a oath בְּת֣וֹךְbe./Tokhin/ among עַמֵּ֑ךְ'a.Me/khpeople/ your בְּתֵ֨תbe./Tetwhen/ makes יְהוָ֤הYah.wehYahweh אֶת־'et-<obj.>יְרֵכֵךְ֙ye.re.khe/Khthigh/ your נֹפֶ֔לֶתno.Fe.letfalling וְאֶת־ve./'Etand/ <obj.>בִּטְנֵ֖ךְbit.Ne/khbelly/ your צָבָֽה׃tza.Vahswollen

King James Version

Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The Lord make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the Lord doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell;

Cross-references

Joshua 6:26 At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”
1 Samuel 14:24 Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the troops tasted any food.
Nehemiah 10:29 hereby join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the Law of God given through His servant Moses and to obey carefully all the commandments, ordinances, and statutes of the LORD our Lord.
Jeremiah 29:22 Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’
2 Chronicles 21:15 And day after day you yourself will suffer from a severe illness, a disease of your bowels, until it causes your bowels to come out.’”
Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
Isaiah 65:15 You will leave behind your name as a curse for My chosen ones, and the Lord GOD will slay you; but to His servants He will give another name.
Matthew 26:74 At that he began to curse and swear to them, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.