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:
The verse belongs to the various vows and ceremonies given to Israel during the numbering and ordering of the tribes with the sanctuary in the center. It lays out the procedure for a wife suspected of adultery when her husband had no direct evidence, in which the priest set her before the Lord, uncovered her head, placed the barley offering of jealousy and memorial in her hands, and himself held in his hand the bitter water that causes the curse. The uncovering deprived the suspected woman of her veil as part of the priestly procedure, marking the accusation against her and her dishonor. It also indicated withdrawal from her husband's authority, since the covering was an emblem of conjugal chastity.
The offering placed in her hands was not for making atonement but for bringing hidden iniquity to light. If the woman was innocent the bitter water caused her no harm, but if she was guilty it brought a condition leading to a swift and dreadful death. In this way the ritual showed that God would expose guilt and remove suspicion of impurity from Israel. In its chapter setting the verse shows God's abhorrence of sin and warns people to shun its destructive course and fearful end.