Numbers 5:27Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He reveals that the virtuous wife will remain in good health, while the one who is guilty of sin will personally experience the consequences of the oath when her womb is opened and her girdle falls away. For the very means by which she sinned will also be the source of her punishment. The oath should be interpreted in this manner: when someone endures something difficult and intolerable, it is customary for those who swear to express, “May I not endure what so-and-so has endured!”