Lejren skal være hellig
1Herren sagde til Moses: 2„Giv Israels folk ordre til at sende alle, der lider af smittefarlige hudsygdomme, ud af lejren. Desuden skal alle, der har udflåd eller har været i berøring med lig, udelukkes fra at opholde sig i lejren, for den slags personer er urene. 3Denne ordning gælder for både mænd og kvinder. I skal udelukke disse mennesker, så de ikke besmitter lejren, hvor jeg har taget bolig.” 4Israelitterne gjorde straks, som Herren havde befalet Moses: alle de urene blev sendt uden for lejren.
Erstatningspligt og offergaver
5Da sagde Herren til Moses: 6„Sig til Israels folk, at hvis en mand eller en kvinde svigter mig ved at begå en synd og dermed pådrager sig skyld, 7skal de bekende den synd, de har begået. Hvis synden drejer sig om materielle værdier, skal den forurettede have erstatning med et tillæg på 20 procent. 8Men hvis den forurettede er død, og der ikke er nogen slægtning til at modtage erstatning, skal betalingen tilfalde præsten sammen med den vædder, som bringes til soning for synden. 9-10Ligeledes tilfalder alle særlige offergaver præsten.”
Kvinder, der mistænkes for utroskab
11Herren sagde til Moses: 12-14„Sig til Israels folk, at hvis en mand har mistanke om, at hans kone har været ham utro, så han er jaloux, men der ikke findes vidner eller klare beviser, 15skal manden føre sin kone til præsten, og han skal medbringe et offer på et kilo rent bygmel, men ingen olivenolie eller røgelse. Det skal være et jalousioffer—dvs. mandens anmodning til Herren om, at sandheden må komme frem i lyset. 16Derpå skal præsten fremstille den mistænkte kvinde for Herren, 17mens han hælder indviet vand i en lerskål og rører lidt støv fra boligens gulv i vandet. 18Så skal han tage hendes hovedbeklædning væk og lægge jalousiofferet i hendes hænder, for at det kan blive afgjort, om der er baggrund for mandens mistanke. Imens skal præsten stille sig foran hende med krukken, der indeholder den bitre forbandelses vand. 19Da skal han sige til hende: ‚Hvis du ikke har haft seksuel omgang med andre end din mand, skal du fritages for den forbandelse, der ligger i dette vand. 20Men hvis du har vendt dig fra din mand og gjort dig selv uren ved en anden mand, 21-22vil Herren forbande dig midt iblandt dit folk, og vandet vil få din livmoder til at svulme op, og du vil ikke kunne få børn.’ Da skal kvinden svare: ‚Lad denne forbandelse ramme mig, hvis jeg er skyldig.’ 23Præsten skal skrive forbandelsen på et stykke læder, hvorefter han skal vaske den skrevne forbandelse af i det bitre vand, 24så når hun drikker vandet, vil hun samtidig drikke sig en forbandelse til. 25Præsten skal nu tage jalousiofferet ud af hendes hænder, svinge det for Herrens ansigt og bringe det hen til alteret. 26Så skal han tage en håndfuld af dette offer og hælde det på alterets ild som et røgoffer, hvorefter kvinden skal drikke vandet. 27Hvis hun virkelig har gjort sig selv uren og har været sin mand utro, skal forbandelsesvandet blive bittert i hende, så hendes livmoder svulmer op, og hun ikke længere kan få børn—og man skal bruge hendes navn som en forbandelse. 28Men hvis hun er uskyldig og ikke har været manden utro, vil der ikke ske hende noget—og hun vil fortsat være i stand til at få børn.
29-30Det er de forskrifter, der skal følges, når en mand mistænker sin kone for utroskab—og ved at følge dem vil det blive afgjort, hvem der har ret. Manden skal føre sin kone frem for Herren, og præsten skal handle efter ovennævnte forskrifter. 31Men hvis forbandelsen rammer hende, er manden uden skyld—for kvinden har fået den straf, hun har fortjent.”
Making the Camp Pure
1The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, 2“Tell the Israelites that certain people must be sent away from the camp. Command them to send away anyone who has a skin disease. They must send away all those who have liquid waste coming from their bodies. And they must send away those who are ‘unclean’ because they have touched a dead body. 3That applies to men and women alike. Send them out of the camp. They must not make their camp ‘unclean.’ That is where I live among them.” 4So the Israelites did what the Lord commanded. They sent out of the camp those who were “unclean.” They did just as the Lord had directed Moses.
Sins Against Others Must Be Paid For
5The Lord said to Moses, 6“Speak to the Israelites. Say to them, ‘Suppose a man or woman does something wrong to someone else. Then that person is not being faithful to the Lord. People like that are guilty. 7They must admit they have committed a sin. They must pay in full for what they did wrong. And they must add a fifth of the value to it. Then they must give all of it to the person they have sinned against. 8But suppose that person has died. And suppose that person does not have a close relative who can be paid for the sin that was committed. Then what is paid belongs to the Lord. It must be given to the priest. A ram must be given along with it. The ram must be sacrificed to the Lord to pay for the sin. 9All the sacred gifts the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. 10Sacred gifts belong to their owners. But what they give to the priest will belong to the priest.’ ”
The Test for an Unfaithful Wife
11Then the Lord spoke to Moses again. He said, 12“Speak to the Israelites. Say to them, ‘Suppose a man’s wife goes astray. And suppose she is not faithful to her husband. 13Suppose another man has sex with her. And suppose this is hidden from her husband. No one knows she is not “clean.” So there is no witness against her. And she has not been caught in the act. 14Suppose her husband becomes jealous. He does not trust his wife, and she is really “unclean.” Or suppose he does not trust her even though she is “clean.” 15Then he must take his wife to the priest. He must also bring an offering. It must be eight cups of barley flour. The offering is for his wife. He must not pour olive oil on it. And he must not put incense on it. It is a grain offering for being jealous. It calls attention to the wrong thing a person has done.
16“ ‘The priest must have her stand in front of the Lord. 17He must pour some holy water into a clay jar. He must get some dust from the floor of the holy tent. And he must put it into the water. 18The priest must have the woman stand in front of the Lord. Then he must untie her hair. He must place in her hands the offering that calls attention to the wrong thing a person has done. It is the grain offering for being jealous. The priest must keep the bitter water with him. It is the water that brings a curse. 19Then the priest must have the woman give her word. He must say to her, “Suppose no other man has had sex with you. And suppose you haven’t gone astray. You have kept yourself pure while you are married to your husband. Then may the bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. 20But suppose you have gone astray while you are married to your husband. You have made yourself ‘unclean.’ You have had sex with a man who isn’t your husband.” 21At that point the priest must put the woman under the curse that will come if she breaks her word. He must say, “May the Lord cause you to become a curse among your people. You will become a curse when the Lord makes your body unable to have children. 22May this water that brings a curse enter your body. May it make your body unable to have children.”
“ ‘Then the woman must say, “Amen. Let it happen.”
23“ ‘The priest must write the curses on a scroll. He must wash them off in the bitter water. 24It is the water he will make the woman drink. It is bitter water that brings a curse. It will enter her body. And it will cause her to suffer bitterly. 25The priest must take from her hands the grain offering for being jealous. He must lift it up and wave it in front of the Lord. He must bring it to the altar. 26Then the priest must take a handful of the grain offering. It is the offering that calls attention to the wrong thing a person has done. The priest must burn it on the altar. After that, he must have the woman drink the water. 27Suppose she has made herself “unclean.” She has not been faithful to her husband. And she has drunk the water that brings a curse. Then it will go into her body. It will cause her to suffer bitterly. It will make her body unable to have children. She will become a curse. 28Suppose the woman has not made herself “unclean.” But suppose she is “clean.” Then she will be free of guilt. And she will be able to have children.
29“ ‘This is the law about being jealous. It applies to a woman who has gone astray. She has made herself “unclean” while she is married to her husband. 30And it applies to a man who becomes jealous. He has doubts about his wife. The priest must have her stand in front of the Lord. He must apply the entire law to her. 31The husband will not be guilty of doing anything wrong. But the woman will be punished for her sin.’ ”
