Numbers 5:21 “and the priest shall have the woman swear under the oath of the curse—…”

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

Other translations

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;

World English Bible

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;

American Standard Version

then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to fall away, and thy body to swell;

Geneva Bible 1599

(Then the Priest shall charge the woman with an othe of cursing, and the Priest shall say vnto the woman) The Lord make thee to be accursed, and detestable for the othe among thy people, and the Lord cause thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell:

Darby Translation

— then the priest shall adjure the woman with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman: Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to shrink, and thy belly to swell;

Young's Literal Translation

(then the priest hath caused the woman to swear with an oath of execration, and the priest hath said to the woman) — Jehovah doth give thee for an execration, and for a curse, in the midst of thy people, in Jehovah's giving thy thigh to fall, and thy belly to swell,

Bible in Basic English

Then the priest will put the oath of the curse on the woman, and say to her, May the Lord make you a curse and an oath among your people, sending on you wasting of the legs and disease of the stomach;

.mt-body { max-height: none !important; -webkit-mask-image: none !important; mask-image: none !important; } .mt-bar { display: none !important; } .o-trans::after { display: block !important; }

Cross references

“an oath”

Joshua 6:26 1 Samuel 14:24 Nehemiah 10:29 Matthew 26:74

Joshua 6:26 · BSB

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…

1 Samuel 14:24 · BSB

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 tro…

Nehemiah 10:29 · BSB

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…

Matthew 26:74 · BSB

At that he began to curse and swear to them, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.

“The Lord make”

Jeremiah 29:22 Isaiah 65:15

Jeremiah 29:22 · BSB

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!’

Isaiah 65:15 · BSB

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.

“rot”

2 Chronicles 21:15 Proverbs 10:7

2 Chronicles 21:15 · BSB

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 · BSB

The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

Cross references adapted from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0) and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

In context

20But if you have gone astray while under your husband’s authority and have defiled yourself and lain carnally with a man other than your husband’—

22May 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.’

Read Numbers 5