Deuteronomy 22
1 “If you see some Israeli’s ox or sheep that has strayed away, do not act as though you did not see it. Take it back [to its owner].
If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; be sure to return it to your brother.
2 But if the owner does not live near you, or if you do not know who the owner is, take the animal to your house. [It can stay with you] until the owner comes, searching for it. Then you must give the animal to him.
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.
3 You must do the same thing if you see a donkey, or a piece of clothing, or anything else that someone has lost. Do not refuse to do what you should do.
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.
4 “And if you see a fellow Israeli’s donkey or cow that has fallen down on the road, do not act as though you did not see it. Help the owner to lift the animal up [so that it can stand on its feet again].
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.
5 “Women must not wear men’s clothes, and men must not wear women’s clothes. Yahweh our God hates people who do things like that.
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.
6 “If you happen to find a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground, and the mother bird is sitting in the nest on its eggs or with the baby birds, do not take the mother bird [and kill it].
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.
7 You are permitted to take the baby birds, but you must allow the mother bird to fly away. Do this in order that things will go well for you and that you will live for a long time.
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.
8 “If you build a new house, you must put a (railing/low wall) around the edge of the roof. If you do that, and if someone falls off the roof [and dies], (you will not be guilty of causing that person to die/his death [MTY] will not be your fault).
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.
9 “Do not plant any crop in the area where your grapevines are growing. If you do, you are not allowed to harvest the crops that you have planted or to harvest the grapes [to make wine from them].
Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled —both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.
10 “Do not hitch together an ox and a donkey [for plowing your fields].
Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.
11 “Do not wear clothing that is made by weaving together (wool and linen/two different kinds of thread).
Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.
12 “[Twist threads together to] make tassels and sew/fasten them on the four bottom corners of your cloak.
You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.
13 “Suppose a man marries a young woman and has sex with her and later decides that he does not want her any more,
Suppose a man marries a woman, has relations with her, and comes to hate her,
14 and he says false things about her, and claims that she was not a virgin when he married 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.”
15 If that happens, the young woman’s parents must take the sheet that was on the bed when that man and their daughter were married, which still has bloodstains on it, and show it to the elders of the city at the (gate of/central meeting place in) the city.
Then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring the proof of her virginity to the city elders at the gate
16 Then the father of the young woman must say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife. But now he says that he doesn’t want her any more.
and say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he has come to hate her.
17 And he has falsely said that she was not a virgin when he married her. But look! Here is what proves that my daughter was a virgin! Look at the bloodstains on the sheet where they slept the night that they were married!’ And he will show the sheet to the elders.
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.
18 Then the elders of that city must take that man and whip him.
Then the elders of that city shall take the man and punish him.
19 They shall require that he pay a fine of 100 pieces of silver and give the money to the father of the young woman, because the man caused an Israeli young woman to be disgraced. Also, that woman must continue to live with him; she is his wife. He is not allowed to divorce her during the rest of his life.
They are also to fine him a hundred shekels of silver 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.
20 “But if what the man said is true, and there is nothing to prove that she was a virgin when he married her,
If, however, this accusation is true, and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found,
21 they must take that young woman to the door of her father’s house. Then the men of that city must execute her by throwing stones at her. They must do that because she has done something in Israel that is very disgraceful, by having sex with some man [while she was still living] in her father’s house. By executing her like that, you will get rid of this evil practice among you.
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.
22 “If a man is caught while he is having sex with another man’s wife, both of them must be executed. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice in Israel.
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.
23 “Suppose in some town a man sees a young woman who is engaged/promised to be married to another man, and he is caught having sex with [EUP] her.
If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,
24 You must take both of them to the (gate of/central meeting place in) that town. There you must execute them both by throwing stones at them. You must execute the young woman because she did not shout for help even though she was in the town. And the man must be executed because he had sex [EUP] with someone who was already engaged/promised to be married. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice among you.
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.
25 “But suppose out in the open countryside a man meets a young woman who is engaged/promised to be married, and he rapes her. If that happens, only that man must be executed.
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.
26 You must not punish the young woman, because she did not do anything for which she deserves to be executed. This case is like when one man attacks another man [in the countryside] and murders him,
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.
27 because the man who raped her saw her when she was in the open countryside, and even though she called out for help, there was no one there who could rescue her.
When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.
28 “If a man rapes a young woman who is not engaged/promised to be married, if someone sees him while he is doing that,
If a man encounters a virgin who is not pledged in marriage, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered,
29 that man must pay 50 pieces of silver to the young woman’s father, and he must marry her, because he forced her to have sex with him. He is not allowed to divorce her for the rest of his life.
then the man who lay with her must pay the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she must become his wife because he has violated her. He must not divorce her as long as he lives.
30 “man must not disgrace his father by having sex with any of his father’s wives.”
A man is not to marry his father’s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father’s marriage bed.
