Numbers 5 · Verse 18

Numbers 5:18

And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:
Numbers 5:18, King James Version

Numbers 5:18 in other translations

BSBAfter the priest has the woman stand before the LORD, he is to let down her hair and place in her hands the grain offering of memorial, which is the grain offering for jealousy. The priest is to hold the bitter water that brings a curse.
WEBThe 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.
ASVAnd the priest shall set the woman before Jehovah, 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: and the priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that causeth the curse.
YLTand the priest hath caused the woman to stand before Jehovah, and hath uncovered the woman's head, and hath given into her hands the present of the memorial, it is a present of jealousy, and in the hand of the priest are the bitter waters which cause the curse.
DARBYAnd the priest shall set the woman before Jehovah, and uncover the woman's head, and put the memorial oblation in her hands, which is the jealousy offering; and in the hand of the priest shall be the bitter water that bringeth the curse.
BBEAnd he will make the woman come before the Lord with her hair loose, and will put the meal offering, the offering of a bitter spirit, in her hands; and the priest will take in his hand the bitter water causing the curse;
WebsterAnd the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy-offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:

What does Numbers 5:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 5:17-18

17-18. the priest shall take holy water--Water from the laver, which was to be mixed with dust--an emblem of vileness and misery (Ge 3:14; Psa 22:15). in an earthen vessel--This fragile ware was chosen because, after being used, it was broken in pieces (Le 6:28; 11:33). All the circumstances of this awful ceremony--her being placed with her face toward the ark--her uncovered head, a sign of her being deprived of the…

Read the full comment on Numbers 5:17-18 →

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 Uncover the woman's head - To take off a woman's veil, and expose her to the sight of men, would be considered a very great degradation in the East. To this St. Paul appears to allude, 1Cor 11:5, 1Cor 11:6,1Cor 11:10.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 5:11-31

This law would make the women of Israel watch against giving cause for suspicion. On the other hand, it would hinder the cruel treatment such suspicions might occasion. It would also hinder the guilty from escaping, and the innocent from coming under just suspicion. When no proof could be brought, the wife was called on to make this solemn appeal to a heart-searching God. No woman, if she were guilty, could say…

Read the full comment on Numbers 5:11-31 →

Numbers 5:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהֶעֱמִ֨ידve.he.'e.Midand he will make standH5975
הַכֹּהֵ֥ןha.ko.Henthe priestH3548
אֶֽת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאִשָּׁה֮ha.'i.Shahthe womanH802
לִפְנֵ֣יlif.Nei<to> beforeH6440
יְהוָה֒Yah.wehYahwehH3068
וּפָרַע֙u.fa.Ra'and he will let looseH6544
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
רֹ֣אשׁrosh[the] head ofH7218
הָֽאִשָּׁ֔הha.'i.Shahthe womanH802
וְנָתַ֣ןve.na.Tanand he will putH5414
עַל\־'al-onH5921
כַּפֶּ֗יהָka.Pei.hahands herH3709
אֵ֚ת'et<obj.>H853
מִנְחַ֣תmin.Chat[the] grain offering ofH4503
הַזִּכָּר֔וֹןha.zi.ka.Ron<the> remembranceH2146
מִנְחַ֥תmin.Chat[is] a grain offering ofH4503
קְנָאֹ֖תke.na.'Otjealousi<es>H7068
הִ֑ואhi'itH1931
וּבְיַ֤דu.ve.Yadand in [the] hand ofH3027
הַכֹּהֵן֙ha.ko.Henthe priestH3548
יִהְי֔וּyih.Yuthey will beH1961
מֵ֥יmei[the] waters ofH4325
הַמָּרִ֖יםha.ma.Rim<the> bitter [things]H4751
הַמְאָֽרֲרִֽים\׃ham.'A.ra.Rimwhich bring a curseH779

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 5:18

  • Leviticus 13:45

    And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.

  • Hebrews 13:4

    Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

  • Numbers 5:15

    Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

  • Revelation 2:19-23

    I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. …

  • Numbers 5:17

    And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:

  • 1 Corinthians 11:6

    For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

  • Numbers 5:24-26

    And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter. Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman’s hand, and shall wave the offering before the Lord, and offer it upon the altar: And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.

  • Hebrews 4:12-13

    For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

  • Isaiah 38:17

    Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

  • Numbers 5:22

    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.

  • Proverbs 5:4

    But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.

  • Deuteronomy 29:18

    Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the priest.
Heb 13:4; Re 2:19-23
uncover.
Le 13:45; 1Co 11:15; Heb 4:12,13
and put.
15,25,26
the bitter water.So called from the bitter effects which it had upon the guilty.
17,22,24; De 29:18; 1Sa 15:32; Pr 5:4; Ec 7:26; Isa 38:17; Jer 2:19
Re 10:9,10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 5:17

    And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:

  • Numbers 5:18

    And the priest shall set the woman before the Lord, and uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:

  • Numbers 5:19

    And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse:

Read all of Numbers 5

Numbers 5:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y hará el sacerdote estar en pie á la mujer delante de Jehová, y descubrirá la cabeza de la mujer, y pondrá sobre sus manos el presente de la recordación, que es el presente de celos: y el sacerdote tendrá en la mano las aguas amargas que acarrean maldición.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et le sacrificateur fera tenir la femme debout devant l’ Éternel, et découvrira la tête de la femme et mettra sur les paumes de ses mains le gâteau de mémorial; c’est un gâteau de jalousie; et dans la main du sacrificateur seront les eaux amères qui apportent la malédiction.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und der Priester stelle das Weib vor Jehova und entblöße das Haupt des Weibes, und lege auf ihre Hände das Speisopfer des Gedächtnisses; es ist ein Speisopfer der Eifersucht; und das fluchbringende Wasser der Bitterkeit soll in der Hand des Priesters sein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Cumque steterit mulier in conspectu Domini, discooperiet caput ejus, et ponet super manus illius sacrificium recordationis, et oblationem zelotypiæ: ipse autem tenebit aquas amarissimas, in quibus cum execratione maledicta congessit.