Numbers 5:19

5:19 Then the priest will put the woman under oath and say to the her, “If no other ¹  man has had sexual relations with you, and if you have not gone astray and become defiled while under your husband’s authority, may you be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. ² 

Numbers 16:30

16:30 But if the Lord does something entirely new, ³  and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up ⁴  along with all that they have, and they ⁵  go down alive to the grave, ⁶  then you will know that these men have despised the Lord!”

Numbers 27:11

27:11 and if his father has no brothers, then you are to give his inheritance to his relative nearest to him from his family, and he will possess it. This will be for the Israelites a legal requirement, ⁷  as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

Numbers 30:5

30:5 But if her father overrules her when he hears ⁸  about it, then none ⁹  of her vows or her obligations which she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release ¹⁰  her from it, because her father overruled her.

Numbers 30:8

30:8 But if when her husband hears it he overrules her, then he will nullify ¹¹  the vow she has taken, ¹²  and whatever she uttered impulsively which she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.

Numbers 30:12

30:12 But if her husband clearly nullifies ¹³  them when he hears them, then whatever she says ¹⁴  by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.

Numbers 30:14

30:14 But if her husband remains completely silent ¹⁵  about her from day to day, he thus confirms all her vows or all her obligations which she is under; he confirms them because he remained silent about when he heard them.

Numbers 33:55

33:55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those whom you allow to remain will be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side, and will cause you trouble in the land where you will be living.

¹ tn The word “other” is implied, since the woman would not be guilty of having sexual relations with her own husband.

² sn Although there would be stress involved, a woman who was innocent would have nothing to hide, and would be confident. The wording of the priest’s oath is actually designed to enable the potion to keep her from harm and not produce the physical effects it was designed to do.

³ tn The verb בָּרָא (bara’) is normally translated “create” in the Bible. More specifically it means to fashion or make or do something new and fresh. Here the verb is joined with its cognate accusative to underscore that this will be so different everyone will know it is of God.

⁴ tn The figures are personifications. But they vividly describe the catastrophe to follow – which was very much like a mouth swallowing them.

⁵ tn The word is “life” or “lifetime”; it certainly means their lives – they themselves. But the presence of this word suggest more. It is an accusative specifying the state of the subject – they will go down alive to Sheol.

⁶ tn The word “Sheol” in the Bible can be used four different ways: the grave, the realm of the departed [wicked] spirits or Hell, death in general, or a place of extreme danger (one that will lead to the grave if God does not intervene). The usage here is certainly the first, and very likely the second as well. A translation of “pit” would not be inappropriate. Since they will go down there alive, it is likely that they will sense the deprivation and the separation from the land above. See H. W. Robinson, Inspiration and Revelation in the Old Testament; N. J. Tromp, Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Netherworld in the Old Testament (BibOr 21), 21-23; and A. Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epic, especially ch. 3.

⁵ tn The expression is חֻקַּת מִשְׁפָּט (khuqqat mishpat, “a statute of judgment”), which means it is a fixed enactment that determines justice. It is one which is established by God.

⁷ tn The idiom is “in the day of,” but it is used in place of a preposition before the infinitive construct with its suffixed subjective genitive. The clause is temporal.

⁸ tn The Hebrew “all will not stand” is best rendered “none will stand.”

⁹ tn The verb has often been translated “forgive” (cf. KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, NLT), but that would suggest a sin that needed forgiving. The idea of “release from obligation” is better; the idea is like that of having a debt “forgiven” or “retired.” In other words, she is free from the vow she had made. The Lord will not hold the woman responsible to do what she vowed.

⁹ tn The verb is the Hiphil perfect with a vav (ו) consecutive from the verb פָּרַר (parar, “to annul”). The verb functions here as the equivalent of an imperfect tense; here it is the apodosis following the conditional clause – if this is the case, then this is what will happen.

¹⁰ tn Heb “which [she is] under it.”

¹¹ tn The verb is the imperfect tense in the conditional clause. It is intensified with the infinitive absolute, which would have the force of saying that he nullified them unequivocally, or he made them null and void.

¹² tn Heb whatever proceeds from her lips.”

¹³ tn The sentence uses the infinitive absolute to strengthen the idea.