King James Version

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:

Study

Hebrew

Tap a word to see its meaning. Words run left to right in English reading order.

וְהִשְׁבִּ֨יעַvehishbiaand swearשָׁבַעconjunction, verb, hiphil, sequential perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “and swear”, a completed action in a sequenceH7650to seven oneself, i.e. swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times)adjure, charge (by an oath, with an oath), feed to the full (by mistake for H7646 (שָׂבַע)), take an oath, [idiom] straitly, (cause to, make to) swear.אֹתָ֜הּotahobject markerאֵתparticle, direct object marker, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “object marker”H853properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)(as such unrepresented in English).הַכֹּהֵ֗ןhakohenthe priestכֹּהֵןdefinite article, noun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “the priest”, the ordinary formH3548literally one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)chief ruler, [idiom] own, priest, prince, principal officer.וְאָמַ֤רveamarand sayאָמַרconjunction, verb, qal, sequential perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “and say”, a completed action in a sequenceH559to say (used with great latitude)answer, appoint, avouch, bid, boast self, call, certify, challenge, charge, [phrase] (at the, give) command(-ment), commune, consider, declare, demand, [idiom] desire, determine, [idiom] expressly, [idiom] indeed, [idiom] intend, name, [id…אֶלelamongאֵלpreposition — “among”H413near, with or among; often in general, toabout, according to, after, against, among, as for, at, because(-fore, -side), both...and, by, concerning, for, from, [idiom] hath, in(-to), near, (out) of, over, through, to(-ward), under, unto, upon, whether, with(-in).הָֽאִשָּׁה֙haishahthe eachאִשָּׁהdefinite article, noun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “the each”, the ordinary formH802a woman(adulter) ess, each, every, female, [idiom] many, [phrase] none, one, [phrase] together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.אִםimoh thatאִםconjunction — “oh that”H518used very widely as demonstrative, lo!; interrogative, whether?; or conditional, if, although; also Oh that!, when; hence, as a negative, not(and, can-, doubtless, if, that) (not), [phrase] but, either, [phrase] except, [phrase] more(-over if, than), neither, nevertheless, nor, oh that, or, [phrase] save (only, -ing), seeing, since, sith, [phrase] surely (no more, none, not), t…לֹ֨אlono , -r,לֹאparticle, negative — “no , -r,”H3808not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles[idiom] before, [phrase] or else, ere, [phrase] except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), ([idiom] as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, [phrase] surely, [phrase] as trul…שָׁכַ֥בshakhavlieשָׁכַבverb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “lie”, a completed actionH7901to lie down (for rest, sexual connection, decease or any other purpose)[idiom] at all, cast down, (lover-)lay (self) (down), (make to) lie (down, down to sleep, still with), lodge, ravish, take rest, sleep, stay.אִישׁ֙isha certainאִישׁnoun, common, masculine, singular, absolute — “a certain”, the ordinary formH376a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)also, another, any (man), a certain, [phrase] champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-) man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), [phrase] none, one, people, person, [phra…אֹתָ֔ךְotakheobject markerאֵתparticle, direct object marker, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, feminine, singular — “object marker”H853properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)(as such unrepresented in English).וְאִםveimand oh thatאִםconjunction, conjunction — “and oh that”H518used very widely as demonstrative, lo!; interrogative, whether?; or conditional, if, although; also Oh that!, when; hence, as a negative, not(and, can-, doubtless, if, that) (not), [phrase] but, either, [phrase] except, [phrase] more(-over if, than), neither, nevertheless, nor, oh that, or, [phrase] save (only, -ing), seeing, since, sith, [phrase] surely (no more, none, not), t…לֹ֥אlono , -r,לֹאparticle, negative — “no , -r,”H3808not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles[idiom] before, [phrase] or else, ere, [phrase] except, ig(-norant), much, less, nay, neither, never, no((-ne), -r, (-thing)), ([idiom] as though...,(can-), for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, [phrase] surely, [phrase] as trul…שָׂטִ֛יתsatitdeclineשָׂטָהverb, qal, perfect, 2nd person, feminine, singular — “decline”, a completed actionH7847to deviate from dutydecline, go aside, turn.טֻמְאָ֖הtumahfilthinessטֻמְאָהnoun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “filthiness”, the ordinary formH2932religious impurityfilthiness, unclean(-ness).תַּ֣חַתtachatwithתַּחַתpreposition — “with”H8478the bottom (as depressed); only adverbially, below (often with prepositional prefix underneath), in lieu of, etc.as, beneath, [idiom] flat, in(-stead), (same) place (where...is), room, for...sake, stead of, under, [idiom] unto, [idiom] when...was mine, whereas, (where-) fore, with.אִישֵׁ֑ךְishekhea certainאִישׁnoun, common, masculine, singular, construct, suffix, pronominal, 2nd person, feminine, singular — “a certain”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH376a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)also, another, any (man), a certain, [phrase] champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (foot-, husband-) man, (good-, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man(-kind), [phrase] none, one, people, person, [phra…הִנָּקִ֕יhinaqibe blamelessנָקָהverb, niphal, imperative, 2nd person, feminine, singular — “be blameless”, a commandH5352to be (or make) clean (literally or figuratively); by implication (in an adverse sense) to be bare, i.e. extirpatedacquit [idiom] at all, [idiom] altogether, be blameless, cleanse, (be) clear(-ing), cut off, be desolate, be free, be (hold) guiltless, be (hold) innocent, [idiom] by no means, be quit, be (leave) unpunished, [idiom] utterly, [idiom] wholl…מִמֵּ֛יmimefrom waterמַיִםpreposition, noun, common, masculine, plural, construct — “from water”, the of-form, joined to the next wordH4325water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen[phrase] piss, wasting, water(-ing, (-course, -flood, -spring)).הַמָּרִ֥יםhamarimthe bitterמַרdefinite article, adjective, adjective, masculine, plural, absolute — “the bitter”, the ordinary formH4751bitter (literally or figuratively); also (as noun) bitterness, or (adverbially) bitterly[phrase] angry, bitter(-ly, -ness), chafed, discontented, [idiom] great, heavy.הַֽמְאָרֲרִ֖יםhamararimthe to execrateאָרַרdefinite article, verb, piel, participle, absolute — “the to execrate”, a verb used as a describing wordH779to execrate[idiom] bitterly curse.הָאֵֽלֶּהhaelehthe theseאֵלֶּהdefinite article, pronoun, demonstrative, common, plural — “the these”H428these or thosean-(the) other; one sort, so, some, such, them, these (same), they, this, those, thus, which, who(-m).

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman: 'If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse;

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou have not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse.

Young’s Literal Translation

'And the priest hath caused her to swear, and hath said unto the woman, If no man hath lain with thee, and if thou hast not turned aside [to] uncleanness under thy husband, be free from these bitter waters which cause the curse;

World English Bible

The priest shall cause her to take an oath 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’s authority, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.

Darby Translation

And the priest shall adjure her, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone astray in uncleanness, in being with another instead of thy husband, be free from this bitter water that bringeth the curse.

Douay-Rheims

And he shall adjure her, and shall say: If another man hath not slept with thee, and if thou be not defiled by forsaking thy husband’s bed, these most bitter waters, on which I have heaped curses, shall not hurt thee.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

And the priest shall adjure her, and shall say to the woman, If no one has lain with thee, and if thou hast not transgressed so as to be polluted, being under the power of thy husband, be free from this water of the conviction that causes the curse.

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Καὶ ὁρκιεῖ αὐτὴν ὁ ἱερεὺς, καὶ ἐρεῖ τῇ γυναικὶ, εἰ μὴ κεκοίμηταί τις μετὰ σοῦ, εἰ μὴ παραβέβηκας μιανθῆναι ὑπὸ τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν σεαυτῆς, ἀθῶα ἴσθι ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος τοῦ ἐλεγμοῦ τοῦ ἐπικαταρωμένου τούτου.