Numbers 5:22

May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The priest pronounces a conditional oath over a woman suspected of adultery, and she responds by affirming the sworn consequences.

The words — The text centers on בָּאוּ (va'u, "they will enter") and צְבֹת (tzivot, "to make swell"), describing the cursed water entering her stomach and causing her belly to swell.

The thread — The physical effect of the water is confirmed in Numbers 5:27, while the principle of experiencing the direct result of one's actions appears in Proverbs 1:31 and the curse imagery of Psalms 109:18.

Why it lands — The woman's double "Amen" formally binds her to the oath, making the ritual's outcome contingent on her explicit consent to the stated terms.

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

וּ֠בָאוּU./va.'uand/ they will go הַמַּ֨יִםha./Ma.yimthe/ waters הַמְאָרְרִ֤יםha/m.'a.re.Rimwhich/ bring a curse הָאֵ֙לֶּה֙ha./'E.leh<the>/ these בְּֽמֵעַ֔יִךְbe./me.'A.yi/khin/ inward parts/ your לַצְבּ֥וֹתla/tz.Botto/ make swell בֶּ֖טֶןBe.tena belly וְלַנְפִּ֣לve./la/n.Piland/ to/ make fall יָרֵ֑ךְya.Rekha thigh וְאָמְרָ֥הve./'a.me.Rahand/ she will say הָאִשָּׁ֖הha./'i.Shahthe/ woman אָמֵ֥ן׀'a.Menamen אָמֵֽן׃'a.Menamen

King James Version

And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.

Cross-references

Psalms 109:18 The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.
Proverbs 1:31 So they will eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
Numbers 5:27 When 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.
Deuteronomy 27:15 ‘Cursed is the man who makes a carved idol or molten image—an abomination to the LORD, the work of the hands of a craftsman—and sets it up in secret.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Job 31:21 if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless because I saw that I had support in the gate,
Job 31:39 if I have devoured its produce without payment or broken the spirit of its tenants,
Psalms 7:4 if I have rewarded my ally with evil, if I have plundered my foe without cause,
Psalms 41:13 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
Psalms 72:19 And blessed be His glorious name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.
Psalms 89:52 Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and amen.