Deuteronomy 22
English Standard Version
Various Laws
22 “You (A)shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep going astray and ignore them. You shall take them back to your brother. 2 And if he does not live near you and you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall stay with you until your brother seeks it. Then you shall restore it to him. 3 And you shall do the same with his donkey or with his garment, or with any lost thing of your brother's, which he loses and you find; you may not ignore it. 4 (B)You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way and ignore them. You shall help him to lift them up again.
5 “A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, (C)for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.
6 “If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, (D)you shall not take the mother with the young. 7 You shall let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, (E)that it may go well with you, and that you may live long.
8 “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring the guilt of blood upon your house, if anyone should fall from it.
9 (F)“You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited,[a] the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. 10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11 You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together.
12 (G)“You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.
Laws Concerning Sexual Immorality
13 “If any man takes a wife and (H)goes in to her and then hates her 14 and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ 15 then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 16 And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; 17 and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip[b] him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels[c] of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin[d] of Israel. And she shall be his wife. (I)He may not divorce her all his days. 20 But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and (J)the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has (K)done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. (L)So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
22 (M)“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. (N)So you shall purge the evil from Israel.
23 “If there is a (O)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. (P)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. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, 27 because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.
28 (Q)“If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.
30 [e] (R)“A man shall not take his father's wife, so that he does not (S)uncover his father's nakedness.[f]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 22:9 Hebrew become holy
- Deuteronomy 22:18 Or discipline
- Deuteronomy 22:19 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- Deuteronomy 22:19 Or girl of marriageable age
- Deuteronomy 22:30 Ch 23:1 in Hebrew
- Deuteronomy 22:30 Hebrew uncover his father's skirt
Deuteronomy 22
Amplified Bible
Various Laws
22 “You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away or being stolen, and [a]ignore [your duty to help] them; you shall certainly take them back to him.(A) 2 If your countryman is not nearby or you do not know him, you shall bring the animal to your house, and it shall stay with you until he searches for it; then you shall return it to him. 3 You shall do this with his donkey or with his garment or with anything that your countryman has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to ignore [your duty to help] them. 4 You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and ignore [your duty to help] them; you shall certainly help him lift it up.
5 “A woman shall not wear a man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is utterly repulsive to the Lord your God.
6 “If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the road, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother [bird] is sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. 7 You shall 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 shall make a railing (parapet) around your [flat] roof, so that you do not bring the guilt of [innocent] blood on your house if someone falls from it.
9 “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or everything produced by the seed which you have sown and the yield of the vineyard will become defiled [and banned for use].
10 “You shall not plow with an ox [a clean animal] and a donkey [an unclean animal] [b]together.(B)
11 “You shall not wear a fabric made of wool and linen blended together [a fabric pagans believed to be magical].(C)
12 “You shall make tassels for yourself on the four corners of your outer garment with which you cover yourself.(D)
Laws on Morality
13 “If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then scorns and hates her, 14 and charges her [without cause] with shameful behavior and [c]publicly defames her, and says, ‘I took this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ 15 then the young woman’s father and her mother shall get and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city at the gate [where court is held]. 16 The father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her and has turned against her; 17 and behold, he has made baseless charges against her, saying, “I did not find in your daughter the evidence of her virginity.” But this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread out the [d]garment before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man and reprimand him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give it to the father of the young woman, because he [e]publicly defamed a virgin of Israel. And she shall remain his wife; he is not allowed to divorce her as long as he lives.
20 “But if this charge is true that the evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, 21 then they shall bring her out to the doorway of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death because she has committed a deliberate sin in Israel by playing the prostitute in her father’s house. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
22 “If a man is [f]intimate with a woman who is another man’s wife, they shall both be put to death, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall remove the evil from Israel.
23 “If a young woman who is a virgin is engaged (legally betrothed) to a man, and another man finds her in the city and is intimate with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out for help [though she was] in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s [promised] wife. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
25 “However, if the man finds the girl who is engaged (legally betrothed) in the [open] field, and seizes her and is intimate with her [by force], then only the man who lies with her shall be put to death. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no sin worthy of death, for this is the same as when a man attacks his neighbor and murders [g]him. 27 When he found her in the [open] field, the engaged girl [may have] cried out for help, but there was no one to [hear and] save her.
28 “If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and is intimate with her and they are discovered, 29 then the man who was intimate with her shall give fifty shekels of silver to the girl’s father, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he can [h]never divorce her.
30 “[i]A man shall not take his father’s [former] wife, so that he will not [j]expose his father’s wife.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 22:1 Lit hide yourself from them, and so throughout the chapter.
- Deuteronomy 22:10 As a practical matter, the two different species would not work well together, particularly pulling a plow, wagon, etc.
- Deuteronomy 22:14 Lit brings upon her an evil name.
- Deuteronomy 22:17 I.e. a blood-stained bed sheet or item of clothing from the wedding night.
- Deuteronomy 22:19 Lit brought an evil name upon.
- Deuteronomy 22:22 Lit found lying, and so throughout.
- Deuteronomy 22:26 Lit his soul.
- Deuteronomy 22:29 Lit all his days.
- Deuteronomy 22:30 In Hebrew this is 23:1, changing the versification throughout the following chapter.
- Deuteronomy 22:30 Lit uncover his father’s skirt.
Deuteronomy 22
Christian Standard Bible
Caring for Your Brother’s Property
22 “If you see your brother Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do 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, do not ignore it; 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, do 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 city 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 a hundred 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 while living 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 sleeps with her, 24 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 is to give the young woman’s father fifty silver shekels, and she will 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](G)
Footnotes
- 22:30 Lit not uncover the edge of his father’s garment; Ru 3:9; Ezk 16:8
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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