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What the Bible Says About Self-Crimination

Overview

The Bible addresses self-crimination across 27 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Numbers, Joshua and 1 Kings. Closely related themes include Adultery, Husband, Jealousy and Women. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Joshua, Achan and Moses.

Key Bible verses about self-crimination

Old Testament

Numbers

Numbers 5:11

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Numbers 5:12

Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,

Numbers 5:13

And a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;

Numbers 5:14

And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:

Numbers 5:15

Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.

Numbers 5:16

And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:

Numbers 5:17

And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:

Numbers 5:18

And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:

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: with another: or, being in the power of thy husband: Heb. under thy husband

Numbers 5:20

But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:

Numbers 5:21

Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; rot: Heb. fall

Numbers 5:22

And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.

Numbers 5:23

And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:

Numbers 5:24

And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.

Numbers 5:25

Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:

Numbers 5:26

And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.

Numbers 5:27

And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.

Joshua

Joshua 7:19

And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.

Joshua 7:20

And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:

Joshua 7:21

When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. wedge: Heb. tongue

Joshua 7:22

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.

Joshua 7:23

And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. laid: Heb. poured

Joshua 7:24

And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.

Joshua 7:25

And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.

People in the Bible and self-crimination

Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.

In the Bible dictionary

Studying self-crimination for yourself

  • Begin with Numbers 5:11, then read the passages below in canonical order.
  • Compare how Numbers, Joshua and 1 Kings each treat the theme.
  • Consider the lives of Joshua, Achan and Moses and how their stories intersect with it.
  • Widen the study to related themes: Adultery, Husband, Jealousy and Women.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Bible say about self-crimination?

The Bible addresses self-crimination across 27 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Numbers, Joshua and 1 Kings. Closely related themes include Adultery, Husband, Jealousy and Women. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Joshua, Achan and Moses.

How many Bible verses are about self-crimination?

The Bible references self-crimination in 27 verses (King James Version).

Where does the Bible first mention self-crimination?

In canonical order, the first of these passages is Numbers 5:11: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,”

Which people in the Bible are associated with self-crimination?

Joshua, Achan and Moses.

Preach & teach

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