民數記5:11-31

5:11 耶和華對摩西說：
5:12 「你曉諭以色列人說：人的妻若有邪行，得罪她丈夫，
5:13 有人與她行淫，事情嚴密，瞞過她丈夫，而且她被玷污，沒有作見證的人，當她行淫的時候也沒有被捉住，
5:14 她丈夫生了疑恨的心，疑恨她，她是被玷污，或是她丈夫生了疑恨的心，疑恨她，她並沒有被玷污，
5:15 這人就要將妻送到祭司那裡，又為她帶著大麥麵伊法十分之一作供物，不可澆上油，也不可加上乳香；因為這是疑恨的素祭，是思念的素祭，使人思念罪孽。
5:16 「祭司要使那婦人近前來，站在耶和華面前。
5:17 祭司要把聖水盛在瓦器裡，又從帳幕的地上取點塵土，放在水中。
5:18 祭司要叫那婦人蓬頭散髮，站在耶和華面前，把思念的素祭，就是疑恨的素祭，放在她手中。祭司手裡拿著致咒詛的苦水，
5:19 要叫婦人起誓，對她說：『若沒有人與你行淫，也未曾背著丈夫做污穢的事，你就免受這致咒詛苦水的災。
5:20 你若背著丈夫行了污穢的事，在你丈夫以外有人與你行淫，
5:21 （祭司叫婦人發咒起誓），願耶和華叫你大腿消瘦，肚腹發脹，使你在你民中被人咒詛，成了誓語；
5:22 並且這致咒詛的水入你的腸中，要叫你的肚腹發脹，大腿消瘦。』婦人要回答說：『阿們，阿們。』
5:23 「祭司要寫這咒詛的話，將所寫的字抹在苦水裡，
5:24 又叫婦人喝這致咒詛的苦水；這水要進入她裡面變苦了。
5:25 祭司要從婦人的手中取那疑恨的素祭，在耶和華面前搖一搖，拿到壇前；
5:26 又要從素祭中取出一把，作為這事的紀念，燒在壇上，然後叫婦人喝這水。
5:27 叫她喝了以後，她若被玷污，得罪了丈夫，這致咒詛的水必進入她裡面變苦了，她的肚腹就要發脹，大腿就要消瘦，那婦人便要在他民中被人咒詛。
5:28 若婦人沒有被玷污，卻是清潔的，就要免受這災，且要懷孕。
5:29 「妻子背著丈夫行了污穢的事，
5:30 或是人生了疑恨的心，疑恨他的妻，就有這疑恨的條例。那時他要叫婦人站在耶和華面前，祭司要在她身上照這條例而行。
5:31 男人就為無罪，婦人必擔當自己的罪孽。」

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹² “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man’s wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him ¹³ so that another man has sexual relations with her, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected (since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act), ¹⁴ and if feelings of jealousy come over her husband and he suspects his wife and she is impure—or if he is jealous and suspects her even though she is not impure— ¹⁵ then he is to take his wife to the priest. He must also take an offering of a tenth of an ephah^[c] of barley flour on her behalf. He must not pour olive oil on it or put incense on it, because it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder-offering to draw attention to wrongdoing.

¹⁶ “‘The priest shall bring her and have her stand before the Lord. ¹⁷ Then he shall take some holy water in a clay jar and put some dust from the tabernacle floor into the water. ¹⁸ After the priest has had the woman stand before the Lord, he shall loosen her hair and place in her hands the reminder-offering, the grain offering for jealousy, while he himself holds the bitter water that brings a curse. ¹⁹ Then the priest shall put the woman under oath and say to her, “If no other man has had sexual relations with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. ²⁰ But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have made yourself impure by having sexual relations with a man other than your husband”— ²¹ here the priest is to put the woman under this curse—“may the Lord cause you to become a curse^[d] among your people when he makes your womb miscarry and your abdomen swell. ²² May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells or your womb miscarries.”

“‘Then the woman is to say, “Amen. So be it.”

²³ “‘The priest is to write these curses on a scroll and then wash them off into the bitter water. ²⁴ He shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and this water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering will enter her. ²⁵ The priest is to take from her hands the grain offering for jealousy, wave it before the Lord and bring it to the altar. ²⁶ The priest is then to take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial^[e] offering and burn it on the altar; after that, he is to have the woman drink the water. ²⁷ If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse. ²⁸ If, however, the woman has not made herself impure, but is clean, she will be cleared of guilt and will be able to have children.

²⁹ “‘This, then, is the law of jealousy when a woman goes astray and makes herself impure while married to her husband, ³⁰ or when feelings of jealousy come over a man because he suspects his wife. The priest is to have her stand before the Lord and is to apply this entire law to her. ³¹ The husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing, but the woman will bear the consequences of her sin.’”

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    性是上帝給人美好的禮物，但是不可以超過婚姻的範圍。然而男性與女性在性的角色或次序上有不同，女性常常站在比較被動的情況，拒絕丈夫的要求多了，常常會引起丈夫的誤解和憤怒，就被以為是不忠。設下這樣的條例，表面上是對女性不好，其實是保護，好使丈夫無話可說。

    其實丈夫若是愛他的妻子，就不應該懷疑妻子，讓妻子要藉由這樣發毒誓來證明清白。更何況在眾人面前這樣處事情，對做先生的人，也是十分不光彩的事情！說到這裡想到馬太福音第一章說到：「耶穌基督降生的事記在下面：他母親馬利亞已經許配了約瑟，還沒有迎娶，馬利亞就從聖靈懷了孕。她丈夫約瑟是個義人，不願意明明地羞辱她，想要暗暗地把她休了。」（18-19節）

    希伯來書13章4節教訓我們：「婚姻，人人都當尊重，床也不可污穢；因為苟合行淫的人，上帝必要審判。」

    求主保守我們，不要受到情慾影響而犯罪，破壞婚姻的神聖性，要想到基督犧牲的愛來使彼此持守上帝的誡命，不要得罪上帝，以免面對上帝的憤怒，上帝是烈火，我們當敬畏祂！