The Fifth Book of Moses: Deuteronomy

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 22 -

If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it;(a) be sure to return it to your brother.

If your brother does not live near you, or if you do not know who he is, you are to take the animal home to remain with you until your brother comes seeking it; then you can return it to him.

And you shall do the same for his donkey, his cloak, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.

If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, you must not ignore it; you must help him lift it up.

A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.

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.

You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.

If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.

Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled (b)—both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.

Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.

You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.

Marriage Violations

Suppose a man marries a woman, has relations with her, and comes to hate her,

and he then accuses her of shameful conduct and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman and had relations with her, but I discovered she was not a virgin.”

Then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring the proof of her virginity to the city elders at the gate

and say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he has come to hate her.

And now he has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.’ But here is the proof of her virginity.” And they shall spread out the cloth before the city elders.

Then the elders of that city shall take the man and punish him.

They are also to fine him a hundred shekels of silver

(c)

and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given a virgin of Israel a bad name. And she shall remain his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.

If, however, this accusation is true, and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found,

she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there 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. So you must purge the evil from among you.(d)

If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,

you must take both 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 wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.

But if the man encounters a betrothed woman in the open country, and he overpowers her and lies with her, only the man who has done this must die.

Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.

When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.

If a man encounters a virgin who is not pledged in marriage, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered,

then the man who lay with her must pay the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver,(e) and she must become his wife because he has violated her. He must not divorce her as long as he lives.

A man is not to marry his father’s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father’s marriage bed.(f)

Footnotes

(a)22:1 Or you must not hide yourself

(b)22:9 Or will be forfeited to the sanctuary

(d)22:21 Here and in verse 24; cited in 1 Corinthians 5:13

(e)22:29 50 shekels is approximately 1.26 pounds or 569.8 grams of silver.

(f)22:30 Or uncover his father’s skirt

You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them. You shall surely bring them again to your brother.

If your brother isn’t near to you, or if you don’t know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother comes looking for it, and you shall restore it to him.

So you shall do with his donkey. So you shall do with his garment. So you shall do with every lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found. You may not hide yourself.

You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely help him to lift them up again.

A woman shall not wear men’s clothing, neither shall a man put on women’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God.

If you come across a bird’s nest on the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young.

You shall surely let the hen go, but the young you may take for yourself, that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.

When you build a new house, then you shall make a railing around your roof, so that you don’t bring blood on your house if anyone falls from there.

You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest all the fruit be defiled, the seed which you have sown, and the increase of the vineyard.

You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

You shall not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.

You shall make yourselves fringes

(a)

on the four corners of your cloak with which you cover yourself.

Marriage Violations

If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, hates her,

accuses her of shameful things, gives her a bad name, and says, “I took this woman, and when I came near to her, I didn’t find in her the tokens of virginity;”

then the young lady’s father and mother shall take and bring the tokens of the young lady’s virginity to the elders of the city in the gate.

The young lady’s father shall tell the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man as his wife, and he hates her.

Behold, he has accused her of shameful things, saying, ‘I didn’t find in your daughter the tokens of virginity;’ and yet these are the tokens of my daughter’s virginity.” They shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

The elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him.

They shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver,(b) and give them to the father of the young lady, because he has given a bad name to a virgin of Israel. She shall be his wife. He may not put her away all his days.

But if this thing is true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the young lady,

then they shall bring out the young lady to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done folly in Israel, to play the prostitute in her father’s house. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both die, the man who lay with the woman and the woman. So you shall remove the evil from Israel.

If there is a young lady who is a virgin pledged to be married to a husband, and a man finds her in the city, and lies with her,

then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones; the lady, because she didn’t cry, being in the city; and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor’s wife. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

But if the man finds the lady who is pledged to be married in the field, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die;

but to the lady you shall do nothing. There is in the lady no sin worthy of death; for as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter;

for he found her in the field, the pledged to be married lady cried, and there was no one to save her.

If a man finds a lady who is a virgin, who is not pledged to be married, grabs her and lies with her, and they are found,

then the man who lay with her shall give to the lady’s father fifty shekels

(c)

of silver. She shall be his wife, because he has humbled her. He may not put her away all his days.

A man shall not take his father’s wife, and shall not uncover his father’s skirt.

Footnotes

(a)22:12 or, tassels

(b)22:19 A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces, so 100 shekels is about a kilogram or 2.2 pounds.