Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 223
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defile the camp in which I live among them.” So the Israelites did as the
Lord had commanded Moses and removed such people from the camp.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the
people of Israel: If any of the p eople—men or w
omen—betray the Lord
by doing wrong to another person, they are guilty. They must confess their
sin and make full restitution for what they have done, adding an additional
20 percent and returning it to the person who was wronged. But if the
person who was wronged is dead, and there are no near relatives to whom
restitution can be made, the payment belongs to the Lord and must be
given to the priest. Those who are guilty must also bring a ram as a sacrifice, and they will be purified and made right with the Lord. All the sacred
offerings that the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. Each priest
may keep all the sacred donations that he receives.”
And the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the
people of Israel.
“Suppose a man’s wife goes astray, and she is unfaithful to her husband
and has sex with another man, but neither her husband nor anyone else
knows about it. She has defiled herself, even though there was no witness
and she was not caught in the act. If her husband becomes jealous and is
suspicious of his wife and needs to know whether or not she has defiled
herself, the husband must bring his wife to the priest. He must also bring
an offering of two quarts of barley flour to be presented on her behalf. Do
not mix it with olive oil or frankincense, for it is a jealousy offering—an
offering to prove whether or not she is guilty.
“The priest will then present her to stand trial before the Lord. He must
take some holy water in a clay jar and pour into it dust he has taken from
the Tabernacle floor. When the priest has presented the woman before
the Lord, he must unbind her hair and place in her hands the offering of
proof—the jealousy offering to determine whether her husband’s suspicions are justified. The priest will stand before her, holding the jar of bitter water that brings a curse to those who are guilty. The priest will then
put the woman under oath and say to her, ‘If no other man has had sex
with you, and you have not gone astray and defiled yourself while under
your husband’s authority, may you be immune from the effects of this bitter water that brings on the curse. But if you have gone astray by being
