Laws of Justice and Mercy

23 “Do not spread false reports.(A) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.(B)

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23 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

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Marriage Violations

13 If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her(A), dislikes her 14 and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,” 15 then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate(B) proof that she was a virgin. 16 Her father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. 17 Now he has slandered her and said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.” Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, 18 and the elders(C) shall take the man and punish him. 19 They shall fine him a hundred shekels[a] of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 22:19 That is, about 2 1/2 pounds or about 1.2 kilograms

13 If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,

14 And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:

15 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:

16 And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;

17 And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;

19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

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21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,(A)
    and need not fear(B) when destruction comes.(C)

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21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.

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When one of them comes to see me,
    he speaks falsely,(A) while his heart gathers slander;(B)
    then he goes out and spreads(C) it around.

All my enemies whisper together(D) against me;
    they imagine the worst for me, saying,
“A vile disease has afflicted him;
    he will never get up(E) from the place where he lies.”
Even my close friend,(F)
    someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
    has turned[a] against me.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 41:9 Hebrew has lifted up his heel

And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity: his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it.

All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise my hurt.

An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.

Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

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20 You sit and testify against your brother(A)
    and slander your own mother’s son.

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20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.

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