And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
Parallel translations
- WEB If the woman isn’t defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive offspring.
- BSB But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be unaffected and able to conceive children.
- NKJV But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.
- NASB But if the woman has not defiled herself and is clean, she will be immune and conceive children.
- NLT But if she has not defiled herself and is pure, then she will be unharmed and will still be able to have children.
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
An innocent woman is vindicated, remains unharmed, and is even blessed with the ability to bear children.
Overview
The rite protected the innocent: clearance brought not just acquittal but blessing in fruitfulness. God's justice here defends the wrongly accused, a mercy in a patriarchal setting where suspicion alone could ruin a woman. It reflects the Lord who justifies and blesses those who are found clean before Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Num 5:19And 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:
- Mic 7:7–10Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
- 2 Cor 4:17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
- Ps 113:9He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
- 1 Pet 1:7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
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 5:28 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.