Numbers 5 — the Bitter Water trial does not describe an abortion; the NIV translation is mistaken on this point

Numbers 5 describes the "sotah" ritual: if a man suspects his wife of adultery, she goes to the tabernacle, a priest writes a curse on parchment and scrapes it into bitter water, she drinks it. If innocent, nothing happens. If guilty, "her womb shall swell and her thigh shall fall away." Pro-choice advocates (and the NIV translation) interpret this as describing an induced miscarriage. Mike argues: (1) the Hebrew words used do not require a baby to be present; (2) the Mishnah (rabbinic law pre-70 AD) explicitly prohibited performing the ritual on a pregnant woman until after the baby was born — demonstrating the ancients did not read it as an abortion procedure; (3) even if it were an abortion, it would be divine judgment performed by God, not a license for humans to perform abortions (cf. God killing Aaron's sons does not license killing priests).