Deuteronomy 22:13-30
Modern English Version
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Deuteronomy 22:19 About 2½ pounds, or 1.2 kilograms.
- Deuteronomy 22:29 About 1¼ pounds, or 575 grams.
Deuteronomy 22:13-30
New King James Version
Laws of Sexual Morality
13 “If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and (A)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 (B)stones, because she has (C)done a disgraceful thing in Israel, to play the harlot in her father’s house. (D)So you shall [a]put away the evil from among you.
22 (E)“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 (F)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 (G)humbled his neighbor’s wife; (H)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 (I)“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 (J)fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife (K)because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.
30 (L)“A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor (M)uncover his father’s bed.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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.
