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].

“You do not see the ox of your brother or his sheep driven away, and have hidden yourself from them, you certainly turn them back 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.

and if your brother [is] not near to you, and you have not known him, then you have removed it to the midst of your house, and it has been with you until your brother seeks it, and you have given it back 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 so you do to his donkey, and so you do to his garment, and so you do to any lost thing of your brother’s, which is lost by him, and you have found it; you are not able to hide yourself.

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].

You do not see the donkey of your brother, or his ox, falling in the way, and have hid yourself from them; you certainly raise [them] up for him.

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.

Anything of a man is not on a woman, nor does a man put on the garment of a woman, for anyone doing these [is] an abomination [to] your God YHWH.

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].

When a bird’s nest comes before you in the way, in any tree, or on the earth, [with] brood or eggs, and the mother is sitting on the brood or on the eggs, you do not take the mother with the young ones;

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 certainly send the mother away, and take the young ones for yourself, so that it is well with you and you have prolonged 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).

When you build a new house, then you have made a parapet for your roof, and you do not put blood on your house when one 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].

You do not sow your vineyard [with] two kinds [of seed], lest the fullness of the seed which you sow and the increase of the vineyard be separated.

10 “Do not hitch together an ox and a donkey [for plowing your fields].

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

11 “Do not wear clothing that is made by weaving together (wool and linen/two different kinds of thread).

You do not put on mixed material, wool and linens together.

12 “[Twist threads together to] make tassels and sew/fasten them on the four bottom corners of your cloak.

You make fringes for yourself on the four skirts of your covering with which you cover [yourself].

13 “Suppose a man marries a young woman and has sex with her and later decides that he does not want her any more,

When a man takes a wife, and has gone in to her, and hated her,

14 and he says false things about her, and claims that she was not a virgin when he married her.

and laid evil deeds of words against her, and brought out an evil name against her, and said, I have taken this woman, and I draw near to her, and I have not found proofs of virginity in her;

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 father of the girl, and her mother, have taken and brought out the girl’s proofs of virginity to [the] elderly of the city in 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 the father of the girl has said to the elderly, I have given my daughter to this man for a wife, and he hates 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 behold, he has laid evil deeds of words, saying, I have not found proofs of virginity for your daughter—and these [are] the proofs of virginity of my daughter! And they have spread out the garment before [the] elderly of the city.

18 Then the elders of that city must take that man and whip him.

And [the] elderly of that city have taken the man, and discipline 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.

and fined him one hundred pieces of silver, and given [them] to the father of the girl, because he has brought out an evil name on a virgin of Israel; and she is to him for a wife—he is not able to send her away [for] all his days.

20 “But if what the man said is true, and there is nothing to prove that she was a virgin when he married her,

And if this thing has been truth—proofs of virginity have not been found for the girl—

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.

then they have brought out the girl to the opening of her father’s house, and the men of her city have stoned her with stones and she has died, for she has done folly in Israel, to go whoring [in] her father’s house; and you have put away evil out of your midst.

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.

When a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them have died—the man who is lying with the woman, and the woman; and you have put away evil out of 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.

When there is a girl, a virgin, betrothed to a man, and a man has found her in a city and lain 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.

then you have brought them both out to the gate of that city, and stoned them with stones, and they have died: the girl, because that she has not cried in a city; and the man, because that he has humbled his neighbor’s wife; and you have put away evil out of your midst.

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.

And if the man finds the girl who is betrothed in a field, and the man has laid hold on her, and lain with her, then the man who has lain with her has died alone;

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,

and you do not do anything to the girl—the girl has no deadly sin; for as a man rises against his neighbor and has murdered him, [taking] a life, so [is] this thing;

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.

for he found her in a field, [and when] she has cried—the girl who is betrothed—then she has no savior.

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,

When a man finds a girl, a virgin who is not betrothed, and has caught her, and lain with her, and they have been found,

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 is lying with her has given fifty pieces of silver to the father of the girl, and she is to him for a wife; because that he has humbled her, he is not able to send her away [for] all his days.

30 “man must not disgrace his father by having sex with any of his father’s wives.”

A man does not take his father’s wife, nor uncover his father’s skirt.”