Deuteronomy 22
Modern English Version
22 You must not see your brother’s ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them. You must certainly bring them back to your brother. 2 If your brother is not near you or if you do not know him, then you are to bring it to your own house, and it will be with you until your brother seeks after it. Then you must return it to him. 3 In the same way, you must do so with his donkey, with his clothing, and with anything lost by your brother which he has lost and you have found. You must not hide yourself from him.
4 You are not to see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down by the way and hide yourself from them. You certainly must help him to lift them up.
5 A woman must not wear man’s clothing, nor is a man to put on a woman’s clothing. For all that do so are abominations to the Lord your God.
6 If you happen to notice a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, you are not to take the mother from the young. 7 You must certainly let the mother go, but you may take the young for yourself, so that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.
8 When you build a new house, you must make a guard rail for your roof so that you bring no blood guilt on your house, should anyone fall from there.
9 You must not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seeds, or the fruit of your seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard will be defiled.
10 You must not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
11 You must not wear clothing made of a material of wool and linen together.
12 You must make tassels on the four quarters of your clothing with which you cover yourself.
Laws About Marriage
13 If any man takes a wife and has sexual relations with her and then rejects her, 14 and accuses her of impropriety and publicly defames her, saying, “I married this woman, but when I had sexual relations with her, I found her not to be a virgin,” 15 then the father and mother of the girl must produce evidence of the girl’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 The girl’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man to wife, and he has rejected her. 17 What is more, he has accused her of impropriety, saying, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ However, this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.” And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 The elders of that city must take that man and punish him, 19 and they must fine him a hundred shekels[a] of silver and give them to the father of the girl, because he has publicly humiliated a virgin of Israel. Then she is to remain his wife. He may not divorce her all his days.
20 But if the accusation is true, and the evidence of virginity does not exist for the girl, 21 then they shall bring the girl out to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones until she dies, because she has brought disgrace into Israel, to act like a whore in her father’s house. In this way you may purge the evil from among you.
22 If a man is discovered lying with a married woman, then both of them must die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. In this way you may purge the evil from Israel.
23 If a girl who is a virgin is engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and has sexual relations with her, 24 then you must bring them both out to the gate of that city and you must stone them with stones until they die, the girl because she did not cry out even though in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. In this way you may purge the evil from among you.
25 But if a man finds an engaged girl in the field, and the man forces her and rapes her, then only the man that raped her shall die. 26 However, you are to do nothing to the girl. There is no sin worthy of death in the girl, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and murders him, so is this matter. 27 For he found her in the field, the engaged girl cried out, but there was no one to save her.
28 If a man finds a girl who is a virgin who is not engaged and seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered, 29 then the man who lay with her must give fifty shekels[b] of silver to the girl’s father, and she shall be his wife because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.
30 A man must not marry his father’s wife and in this way dishonor his father.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 22:19 About 2½ pounds, or 1.2 kilograms.
- Deuteronomy 22:29 About 1¼ pounds, or 575 grams.
Deuteronomy 22
New King James Version
Various Laws of Morality
22 “You (A)shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray, and [a]hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother. 2 And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until your brother seeks it; then you shall restore it to him. 3 You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you [b]must not hide yourself.
4 (B)“You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again.
5 “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are [c]an abomination to the Lord your God.
6 “If a bird’s nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, (C)you shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, (D)that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
8 “When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring guilt of bloodshed on your household if anyone falls from it.
9 (E)“You shall not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled.
10 (F)“You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
11 (G)“You shall not wear a garment of different sorts, such as wool and linen mixed together.
12 “You shall make (H)tassels on the four corners of the clothing with which you cover yourself.
Laws of Sexual Morality
13 “If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and (I)detests her, 14 and charges her with shameful conduct, and brings a bad name on her, and says, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I found she was not a virgin,’ 15 then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the evidence of the young woman’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 And the young woman’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he detests her. 17 Now he has charged her with shameful conduct, saying, “I found your daughter was not a virgin,” and yet these are the evidences of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him; 19 and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days.
20 “But if the thing is true, and evidences of virginity are not found for the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with (J)stones, because she has (K)done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. (L)So you shall [d]put away the evil from among you.
22 (M)“If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.
23 “If a young woman who is a virgin is (N)betrothed to a husband, and a 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 to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he (O)humbled his neighbor’s wife; (P)so you shall put away the evil from among you.
25 “But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. 27 For he found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.
28 (Q)“If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman’s father (R)fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife (S)because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.
30 (T)“A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor (U)uncover his father’s bed.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 22:1 ignore them
- Deuteronomy 22:3 may not avoid responsibility
- Deuteronomy 22:5 detestable
- Deuteronomy 22:21 purge the evil person
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
