Deuteronomy 22
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Caring for Your Brother’s Property
22 “If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother. 2 If your brother does not live near you or you don’t know him, you are to bring the animal to your home to remain with you until your brother comes looking for it; then you can return it to him. 3 Do the same for his donkey, his garment, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.(A) 4 If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen down on the road, you must not ignore it; you must help him lift it up.
Preserving Natural Distinctions
5 “A woman is not to wear male clothing, and a man is not to put on a woman’s garment, for everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord your God.
6 “If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, you must not take the mother along with the young. 7 You may take the young for yourself, but be sure to let the mother go free, so that you may prosper and live long. 8 If you build a new house, make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it. 9 Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; otherwise, the entire harvest, both the crop you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled. 10 Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 Do not wear clothes made of both wool and linen.(B) 12 Make tassels on the four corners of the outer garment you wear.(C)
Violations of Proper Sexual Conduct
13 “If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and comes to hate her, 14 and accuses her of shameful conduct, and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman and was intimate with her, but I didn’t find any evidence of her virginity,’ 15 the young woman’s father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring it to the city elders at the gate.(D) 16 The young woman’s father will say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her. 17 He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying: “I didn’t find any evidence of your daughter’s virginity,” but here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ They will spread out the cloth before the city elders. 18 Then the elders of that city will take the man and punish him.(E) 19 They will also fine him 100 silver shekels and give them to the young woman’s father, because that man gave an Israelite virgin a bad name. She will remain his wife; he cannot divorce her as long as he lives. 20 But if this accusation is true and no evidence of the young woman’s virginity is found, 21 they will bring the woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from you.
22 “If a man is discovered having sexual relations with another man’s wife, both the man who had sex with the woman and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. 23 If there is a young woman who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and has sex with her, 24 you must take the two of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s fiancée. You must purge the evil from you. 25 But if the man encounters an engaged woman in the open country, and he seizes and rapes her, only the man who raped her must die. 26 Do nothing to the young woman, because she is not guilty of an offense deserving death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him. 27 When he found her in the field, the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her. 28 If a man encounters a young woman, a virgin who is not engaged, takes hold of her and rapes her, and they are discovered, 29 the man who raped her must give the young woman’s father 50 silver shekels, and she must become his wife because he violated her.(F) He cannot divorce her as long as he lives.
30 “A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not violate his father’s marriage bed.[a][b](G)
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 22:30 Dt 23:1 in Hb
- Deuteronomy 22:30 Lit not uncover the edge of his father’s garment; Ru 3:9; Ezk 16:8
Deuteronomy 22
International Standard Version
Hospitality to Neighbors
22 “When you see the ox or sheep of your fellow countryman[a] straying, don’t go away and leave it. Instead, be sure to return it to him.[b] 2 If your fellow countryman doesn’t live near you or you don’t know who he is, bring the animal[c] to your house and let it remain with you until he[d] claims it. Then return it to him. 3 Do the same for his donkey, his garment, and for anything lost that belongs to your fellow countryman. When you find it, you must not ignore it. 4 When you see the donkey or the ox of your fellow countryman fallen on the road, don’t ignore it. Instead be sure to help it get up.”
Miscellaneous Laws
5 “A woman is not to wear what is appropriate to a man, nor is a man to put on a woman’s garment, because anyone who does this is detestable to the Lord your God.
6 “When you encounter a bird’s nest along the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and the mother bird is sitting on its chicks[e] or eggs, don’t take the mother along with its young.[f] 7 You may take the young, but be sure to release the mother, so that life will go well for you and that you may have a long life.
8 “When you build a new house, install a parapet along your roof so that if someone falls from the roof, you won’t bring guilt of bloodshed on your house.”
Principles of Distinction
9 “Don’t plant two kinds of seeds in your vineyard. Otherwise, the entire crop will have to be forfeited, both the seed that you have sown and the produce from it.
10 “Don’t plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.
11 “Don’t wear material made from wool and linen mixed together.
12 “Sew tassels for yourself on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.”
Integrity in Marriage
13 “Suppose a man marries a wife, but after having sexual relations with her, he despises her, 14 invents charges against her, and defames her by saying, ‘I have married this woman, but when I had sexual relations with her I found that she wasn’t a virgin.’ 15 Then the father of the young lady, along with her mother, is to bring evidence of the young lady’s virginity to the elders at the gate. 16 The father of the young lady is to then say to the elders: ‘I have given my daughter to this man as a wife, but he despises her. 17 Now look, he has invented charges against her by saying, “I haven’t found your daughter to be a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they are to spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 The elders of that city will then take the man, punish him, 19 fine him 100 shekels of silver, and then give them to the young lady’s father, because he defamed a virgin of Israel. She is to remain his wife and he can’t divorce her as long as he lives. 20 But if this charge is true, and the evidence of the young lady’s virginity wasn’t found, 21 they are to bring her to the door of her father’s house. Then the men of the city are to stone her with boulders until she dies for doing a detestable thing in Israel—acting like a prostitute while in her father’s house. By doing this, you will remove this evil from among you.
22 “If a man is caught having sexual relations with a married woman, then both of them must die—the man who had sex with the woman and the woman herself—so that this evil will be removed from Israel.
23 “If a man meets a young virgin lady in the city who is engaged to be married and has sexual relations with her, 24 then the two must be brought to the city gate and there they must be stoned to death—the girl because she was in a city but did not cry out for help, and the man who abused a woman who was engaged to another man. By doing this you are to remove this evil from among you.
25 “If a man meets a girl in the country who is engaged to be married and then rapes[g] her, the man alone—the one who had sexual relations with her—must die. 26 As for the young lady, don’t do anything to her. The young lady did nothing worthy of death. This case is similar to when a man attacks his countryman and kills him. 27 Since he found her in the country, the engaged girl may have cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.
28 “However, if a man meets a girl who isn’t engaged to be married, and he seizes her, rapes her, and is later found out, 29 then the man who raped her must give 50 shekels of silver to the girl’s father. Furthermore, he must marry her. Because he violated her, he is to not divorce her as long as he lives.
30 [h]“A man must not marry his father’s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father’s memory.”[i]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 22:1 Lit. brother’s and so throughout the chapter
- Deuteronomy 22:1 Lit. brother and so throughout the chapter
- Deuteronomy 22:2 Lit. bring it
- Deuteronomy 22:2 Lit. brother
- Deuteronomy 22:6 Lit. on the young
- Deuteronomy 22:6 Lit. sons
- Deuteronomy 22:25 Lit. overwhelms
- Deuteronomy 22:30 This v. is 23:1 in MT
- Deuteronomy 22:30 Lit. wing; or skirt
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