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Various Statutes

22 (A)You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep straying away and [a]ignore them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother. And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother searches for it; then you shall give it back to him. Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do likewise with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your brother, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to [b]ignore them. You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way and [c]ignore them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up.

“A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh your God.

“If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, (B)you shall not take the mother with the young; you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, (C)in order that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.

“When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone falls from it.

(D)You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest [d]all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard become defiled.

10 (E)You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

11 (F)You shall not wear a material mixed of wool and flax together.

12 (G)You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.

Statutes About Sexual Immorality

13 (H)If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then [e]turns against her, 14 and charges her with shameful deeds and brings forth against her a bad name and says, ‘I took this woman, but when I came near her, I did not find her a virgin,’ 15 then the girl’s father and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of the girl’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 Then the girl’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he [f]turned against her; 17 and behold, he has charged her with shameful deeds, saying, “I did not find your daughter a virgin.” But [g]this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. 18 So (I)the elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him, 19 and they shall fine him [h]one hundred shekels of silver and give it to the girl’s father because he brought forth a bad name against a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot [i]divorce her all his days.

20 “But if this [j](J)charge is true, that the girl was not found a virgin, 21 then they shall bring out the girl to the doorway of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her, and she will die because she has (K)committed a disgraceful act in Israel by playing the harlot in her father’s house; thus (L)you shall purge the evil from among you.

22 (M)If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.

23 (N)If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds 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, and they will die; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.

25 “But if in the field the man finds the girl who is engaged, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lies with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the girl; there is no sin in the girl worthy of death, for just as a man rises against his neighbor and murders him, so is this case. 27 When he found her in the field, the engaged girl cried out, but there was no one to save her.

28 (O)If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.

30 [k](P)A man shall not take his father’s wife so that he will not uncover his father’s skirt.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 22:1 Lit hide yourself
  2. Deuteronomy 22:3 Lit hide yourself
  3. Deuteronomy 22:4 Lit hide yourself
  4. Deuteronomy 22:9 Lit the fullness
  5. Deuteronomy 22:13 Lit hates her
  6. Deuteronomy 22:16 Lit hated her
  7. Deuteronomy 22:17 Lit these are
  8. Deuteronomy 22:19 Approx. 2.5 lb. or 1.1 kg
  9. Deuteronomy 22:19 Lit send her away
  10. Deuteronomy 22:20 Lit matter
  11. Deuteronomy 22:30 Ch 23:1 in Heb

22 If you see your fellow Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner.(A) If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.

If you see your fellow Israelite’s donkey(B) or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet.(C)

A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.

If you come across a bird’s nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young.(D) You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go,(E) so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.(F)

When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.(G)

Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard;(H) if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.[a]

10 Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.(I)

11 Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.(J)

12 Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.(K)

Marriage Violations

13 If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her(L), 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(M) 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(N) shall take the man and punish him. 19 They shall fine him a hundred shekels[b] 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.

20 If, however, the charge is true(O) and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, 21 she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing(P) in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.

22 If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept(Q) with her and the woman must die.(R) You must purge the evil from Israel.

23 If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, 24 you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.(S)

25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a young woman pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. 26 Do nothing to the woman; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders a neighbor, 27 for the man found the young woman out in the country, and though the betrothed woman screamed,(T) there was no one to rescue her.

28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered,(U) 29 he shall pay her father fifty shekels[c] of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

30 A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not dishonor his father’s bed.[d](V)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 22:9 Or be forfeited to the sanctuary
  2. Deuteronomy 22:19 That is, about 2 1/2 pounds or about 1.2 kilograms
  3. Deuteronomy 22:29 That is, about 1 1/4 pounds or about 575 grams
  4. Deuteronomy 22:30 In Hebrew texts this verse (22:30) is numbered 23:1.