^7 (A)And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.’

Miscellaneous Laws

^5 (A)“When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year ^(B)to be happy with his wife^[a] whom he has taken.

^30 (A)You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. ^(B)You shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. ^(C)You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit.

⁴ No soldier ^(A)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.

¹⁸ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ ²⁰ And another said, ^(A)‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

The Birth of Jesus Christ

¹⁸ Now the birth of ^(A)Jesus Christ^[a] took place in this way. ^(B)When his mother Mary had been betrothed^[b] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child ^(C)from the Holy Spirit.

²³ “If there is a ^(A)betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, ²⁴ then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. ^(B)So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

²⁵ “But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.