The conclusion of the ordeal of the suspected adulteress establishes a clear moral equation between the husband and the wife. The husband emerges completely cleared of guilt, while the wife bears the consequences of her actions. This clearance of the husband operates on several levels. Psychologically, if the waters prove the woman guilty and she dies, the husband might torment himself with the thought that he caused her death. He is therefore assured that he bears no responsibility or punishment for her fate [רש״י, בכור שור, מלבי״ם, קצור בעל הטורים]. Furthermore, even if she is proven pure, the husband is not considered to have sinned by suspecting her or subjecting her to public humiliation. The woman brought this suspicion upon herself by ignoring his explicit warnings and choosing to seclude herself with another man [ספורנו, רשב״ם, רלב״ג, אבן עזרא, העמק דבר]. In fact, had the husband remained silent and simply accepted the possibility of his wife's infidelity, he would have been the one bearing guilt [רשב״ם, חזקוני].
On a practical and legal level, the husband's clearance resolves the status of their marriage. Once he suspected her and she secluded herself, continuing to live together was forbidden and considered a sin. After she drinks the water and is proven pure, the husband is cleared of that potential sin, and they are fully permitted to resume their life together [רש״י, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים, גור אריה, משכיל לדוד].
However, a major approach among commentators views the husband's innocence not just as a promise, but as an absolute prerequisite for the ritual. The divine miracle of the bitter waters will only function if the husband himself is entirely free of any sexual immorality [רבנו בחיי, תורה תמימה, רש ר הירש, מלבי״ם]. If he maintained relations with his wife after she became forbidden due to the suspicion, or if he ever engaged in adultery or forbidden relations in his past, the waters will have no effect on her [רבנו בחיי, הירש, צאינה וראינה, בכור שור]. The ritual is similarly neutralized if the husband turned a blind eye to the immoral behavior of his children, or if the marriage itself was prohibited from the start, such as a priest marrying a divorced woman [הירש, צאינה וראינה].
This strict requirement explains why the ritual was ultimately abolished in later generations. As adultery became widespread among the Israelites and men no longer maintained their own sexual purity, the practice of administering the waters was stopped, since the miracle depended entirely on the men being free of sin [רבנו בחיי, תורה תמימה, חזקוני, בכור שור]. Interestingly, a similar legal principle existed in ancient Roman law, where a woman was exempt from punishment for adultery if it was discovered that her husband was guilty of the same offense [אם למקרא]. The Torah does not grant men greater sexual freedom than women; rather, it demands absolute purity from both as a condition for God's providence to rest in their home [הירש].
The other side of the equation addresses the wife bearing her guilt. If she indeed acted unfaithfully, she will suffer the ultimate punishment and die [ספורנו, מלבי״ם, בכור שור, אבן עזרא], and the exact same physical punishment will fall upon the man who sinned with her [הירש]. Yet, many commentators emphasize that even if the woman is proven pure of adultery, she still bears a degree of guilt and suffers the humiliation and distress of the ordeal. This serves as a consequence for her inappropriate behavior, for placing herself in a highly suspicious situation, and for causing God's sacred name to be erased into the water on her account [ספורנו, מלבי״ם, צפנת פענח, העמק דבר].