“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him,
Parallel translations
- WEB “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray, and is unfaithful to him,
- KJV Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man’s wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,
- BSB “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if any man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him
- NKJV “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘If any man’s wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him,
- NLT “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. “Suppose a man’s wife goes astray, and she is unfaithful to her husband
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The law concerns a wife who goes astray and is unfaithful to her husband. It addresses suspected marital infidelity.
Overview
This verse sets the case: a wife suspected of breaking the marriage covenant through unfaithfulness. The seriousness with which the Law treats adultery reflects God's high regard for the marriage bond. Marriage's covenant fidelity itself images God's faithful covenant love for His people, which Christ embodies toward His church (Ephesians 5:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Num 5:19–20The priest shall cause her to swear, 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, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.
- Prov 2:16–17To deliver you from the strange woman, even from the foreigner who flatters with her words;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 5:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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