Numbers 5; Numbers 6

1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 "Command the Israelites to send outside the camp anyone who has a serious skin disease or a discharge or anyone who is unclean from touching a dead body.

3 Send all of these unclean men and women outside the camp. They must not make this camp where I live among you unclean."

4 So the Israelites did as the LORD had told Moses. They sent these unclean people outside the camp.

5 The LORD said to Moses,

6 "Tell the Israelites: If you do something wrong to another person, you have been unfaithful to the LORD. When you realize your guilt,

7 you must confess your sin, pay in full for what you did wrong, add one-fifth to it, and give it to the person who was wronged.

8 But there may be no heir to whom the payment can be made. In that case, the payment for what you did wrong must be given to the LORD for the priest [to use]. This payment is in addition to the ram which makes peace with the LORD.

9 "Any contribution over and above the holy offerings that the Israelites bring to the priest will belong to the priest.

10 Each person's holy offerings will belong to that person, but whatever is given to the priest will belong to the priest."

11 The LORD said to Moses:

12 "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: A man's wife may have been unfaithful to him

13 and may have had sexual intercourse with another man without her husband's knowledge. She may have kept it secret if there were no witnesses to accuse her and she wasn't caught in the act.

14 "A husband may have a fit of jealousy and suspect his wife, whether she was actually unfaithful or not.

15 He must then take his wife to the priest along with eight cups of barley flour as an offering for her. He must not pour olive oil on the flour or put frankincense on it, since it is a grain offering brought because of the husband's jealousy, an offering used for a confession--to remind someone of a sin that was committed.

16 "The priest will have the woman come forward and stand in the LORD's presence.

17 Then the priest will take holy water in a piece of pottery and put some dust from the floor of the tent into the water.

18 The priest will bring the woman into the LORD's presence and loosen her hair. In her hands he will put the offering used for a confession (that is, the grain offering brought because of the husband's jealousy). The priest will hold in his hands the bitter water that can bring a curse.

19 "Then the priest will say to her, 'If no other man has had sexual intercourse with you and you haven't been unfaithful to your husband, you're not guilty. This bitter water that can bring a curse will not harm you.

20 If, in fact, you have been unfaithful and have had sexual intercourse with another man,

21 may the LORD make you an example for your people to see what happens when the curse of this oath comes true: The LORD will make your uterus drop and your stomach swell.' "Then the priest will administer the oath and the curse by saying:

22 'May this water that can bring a curse go into your body and make your stomach swell and your uterus drop!' "Then the woman will say, 'Amen, amen!'

23 "The priest will write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.

24 Then he will have the woman drink the bitter water that can bring the curse. This water will go into her [and] become bitter.

25 The priest will take the grain offering she was holding, present it to the LORD, and bring it to the altar.

26 The priest will take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Then he will have the woman drink the water.

27 If she has become unclean by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that can bring the curse will go into her and become bitter. Her stomach will swell, her uterus will drop, and she will become cursed among her people.

28 But if the woman is not unclean and is pure, she is not guilty and will be able to have children.

29 "These are the instructions for how to deal with jealousy. They tell you what to do when a woman is unfaithful to her husband and becomes unclean.

30 They also tell you what to do when a husband has a fit of jealousy and is suspicious of his wife. He will make his wife stand in the LORD's presence, and the priest will do everything these instructions tell him to do.

31 The husband isn't guilty of doing anything wrong, but the woman will suffer the consequences of her sin."

1 The LORD said to Moses,

2 "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: A man or a woman may make a special vow to live as a Nazirite dedicated to the LORD.

3 Nazirites must never drink wine, liquor, vinegar made from wine or liquor, or any kind of grape juice, and they must never eat fresh grapes or raisins.

4 As long as they are Nazirites, they must never eat anything that comes from a grapevine, not even grape seeds or skins.

5 "As long as they are under the Nazirite vow, no razor may touch their heads. During the entire time that they are dedicated to the LORD as Nazirites, they will be holy. They must let their hair grow long.

6 While they are dedicated to the LORD as Nazirites, they must never go near a dead body.

7 Even if their own father, mother, brother, or sister dies, they must not make themselves unclean by going near them. Nazarites show their vow to God with their long hair.

8 As long as they are Nazirites, they will be holy to the LORD.

9 "Someone might suddenly drop dead next to a Nazirite and make the Nazirite's hair unclean. Seven days later he must shave his head in order to be declared clean.

10 On the eighth day he must bring two mourning doves or two young pigeons to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

11 The priest will sacrifice one as an offering for sin and the other one as a burnt offering. The priest will make peace with the LORD for the person who touched the dead body. That same day the person must dedicate his head again.

12 Once again he will dedicate himself to the LORD as a Nazirite for the same length of time as before. He must bring a one-year-old male lamb as an offering for guilt. The first time period won't count. He has to start over from when he became unclean.

13 "These are the instructions for Nazirites who complete their vows: They must come to the entrance of the tent of meeting.

14 They must bring these offerings to the LORD: a one-year-old male lamb as a burnt offering, a one-year-old female lamb as an offering for sin, and a ram as a fellowship offering. All of these animals must have no defects.

15 They must also bring a basket of unleavened bread containing some rings of bread made with olive oil and wafers of unleavened bread brushed with olive oil, along with other grain offerings and wine offerings.

16 "The priest will bring these offerings to the LORD and make the offering for sin and the burnt offering.

17 He will sacrifice the ram as a fellowship offering to the LORD, offer the basket of unleavened bread along with it, and make the grain offerings and wine offerings.

18 "Then the Nazirites will shave their heads at the entrance to the tent of meeting, take the hair as proof that they had made this vow, and put it on the fire under the fellowship offering.

19 "Then the priest will take one of the shoulders from a boiled ram, one ring of unleavened bread from the basket, and one wafer of unleavened bread and hand them to the Nazirites after they have shaved off their hair.

20 The priest will present them as an offering to the LORD. They are holy and belong to the priest, along with the ram's breast that is presented and the thigh that is given. After that, the Nazirites may drink wine.

21 "These are the instructions for those who have vowed to bring their offerings to the LORD because they were Nazirites. They must bring these offerings in addition to anything else they can afford. They must fulfill the requirements of these instructions for Nazirites and finish whatever they vowed to do."

22 The LORD said to Moses,

23 "Tell Aaron and his sons, 'This is how you will bless the Israelites. Say to them:

24 The LORD will bless you and watch over you.

25 The LORD will smile on you and be kind to you.

26 The LORD will look on you with favor and give you peace.'

27 "So whenever they use my name to bless the Israelites, I will bless them."