Numbers 5

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever is unclean by a corpse.

You shall put both male and female outside of the camp so that they don’t defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.”

The children of Israel did so, and put them outside of the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the children of Israel: ‘When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against the LORD, and that soul is guilty,

then he shall confess his sin which he has done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty.

But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to the LORD shall be the priest’s, in addition to the ram of the atonement, by which atonement shall be made for him.

Every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present to the priest, shall be his.

Every man’s holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest, it shall be his.’”

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him,

and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and this is kept concealed, and she is defiled, there is no witness against her, and she isn’t taken in the act;

and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife and she is defiled; or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife and she isn’t defiled;

then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring her offering for her: one tenth of an ephah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory.

The priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD.

The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and the priest shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.

The priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and let the hair of the woman’s head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse.

The priest shall cause her to take an oath and shall tell the woman, “If no man has lain with you, and if you haven’t gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.

But if you have gone astray, being under your husband’s authority, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband—”

then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall tell the woman, “May the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD allows your thigh to fall away, and your body to swell;

and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.” The woman shall say, “Amen, Amen.”

“‘The priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall wipe them into the water of bitterness.

He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.

The priest shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the meal offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.

The priest shall take a handful of the meal offering, as its memorial portion, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.

When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away; and the woman will be a curse among her people.

If the woman isn’t defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive offspring.

“‘This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled,

or when the spirit of jealousy comes on a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute on her all this law.

The man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.’”

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter addresses three distinct matters related to holiness in the camp of Israel: the removal of ceremonially unclean persons, the requirement for confession and restitution in cases of personal sin, and the procedure for testing a wife suspected of adultery. These instructions collectively safeguard the sanctity of the community where God dwells, uphold justice in interpersonal offenses, and provide a divinely ordained means of resolving suspicion in marriage. Situated early in Israel’s journey, the chapter reinforces the gravity of moral and ritual purity before a holy God.

Flow.

Begins with a command to expel those who are ceremonially unclean—lepers, the bodily discharges, and corpse-contaminated persons—from the camp to prevent defilement of God’s dwelling (vv. 1–4).
Shifts to moral uncleanness: any individual who sins must confess, make full restitution plus a fifth, and offer a sacrifice, ensuring right standing before God and neighbor (vv. 5–10).
Focuses on marital faithfulness, detailing a ritual by which a husband’s jealousy may be resolved through a priestly ordeal involving “bitter water” that either clears the woman or confirms her guilt (vv. 11–31).

Connections.
Following chapter 4, which concludes the census and duties of the Levites in maintaining the tabernacle’s sanctity, this chapter extends that concern for purity into the broader camp life. The removal of the unclean preserves the holiness of God’s presence, a theme introduced in Leviticus and reiterated here. The laws on restitution and the ordeal of the bitter water anticipate the broader ethical and judicial framework developed in later chapters, particularly as Israel prepares to enter the land (e.g., Numbers 35). This chapter’s emphasis on confession and atonement (WCF 15.3) prepares the reader for the corporate and individual accountability required of God’s people, which chapter 6 takes up in the vow of the Nazirite as another expression of consecration.

What it teaches.
God’s presence among His people demands a pure community, both ritually and morally (WCF 1.7). The expulsion of the unclean underscores that fellowship with God requires separation from defilement (Lev 15; ). The requirement to confess and restore what was wrongfully taken stresses personal accountability and the seriousness of sin against both neighbor and God (WCF 14.1; HC LD 44). The jealousy ordeal, while mysterious, affirms God’s role as the righteous Judge who knows the heart (HC LD 10): innocence brings vindication and fruitfulness, guilt brings divine judgment. The priest serves as mediator, reflecting Christ’s work in making atonement (WCF 8.5; HC LD 16). The ownership of offerings (vv. 9–10) reflects the principle that service to God is not in vain (WCF 21.5).

Apply.
Where sin defiles, Christ has made way for cleansing through confession and His full restitution on the cross.

AI-generated. Not a substitute for Scripture, your pastor, or the confessions.