The Fifth Book of Moses: Deuteronomy

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- Chapter 22 -

“If you see your brother’s ox or sheep wander astray, you shall not pass by. Instead, you shall lead them back to your brother.

But if your brother is not near, or you do not know him, you shall lead them to your house, and they shall be with you until your brother seeks them and receives them.

You shall act in a similar manner with his donkey, and his clothing, and all the belongings of your brother that have been lost. If you find it, you shall not neglect it, as if it belonged to a stranger.

If you see that your brother’s donkey or ox has fallen along the way, you shall not disregard it. Instead, you shall lift it up with him.

A woman shall not be clothed with manly apparel, nor shall a man make use of feminine apparel. For whoever does these things is abominable with God.

If, as you are walking along the way, you find a bird’s nest, in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is nurturing the young or the eggs, you shall not take her with her young.(a)

Instead, you shall permit her to go, retaining the young that you have caught, so that it may be well with you, and you may live for a long time.

When you build a new house, you shall make a wall around the roof. Otherwise, someone may slip and fall down violently, and so blood would be shed at your house, and you would be guilty.(b)

You shall not sow your vineyard with another seed, lest both the seed that you have sown and what springs forth from the vineyard be sanctified together.

You shall not till with an ox and a donkey at the same time.

You shall not wear a vestment which has been woven from both wool and linen.

You shall make strings along the hem, at the four corners of your cloak, which covers you.

Marriage Violations

If a man takes a wife, and afterwards he has hatred for her,

and so he seeks opportunities to dismiss her, imputing a very wicked name to her by saying, ‘I received this woman as a wife, and upon entering to her, I found her not to be a virgin,’

then her father and mother shall take her, and they shall bring with them the signs of her virginity, to the elders of the city who are at the gate.

And the father shall say: ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife. And because he hates her,

he accuses her with a very wicked name, by saying: “I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.” But behold, these are the signs of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the clothing before the elders of the city.

And the elders of that city shall apprehend that man and beat him.

Moreover, they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver, which he will give to the father of the girl, because he has committed slander, with a very wicked name, against a virgin of Israel. And he shall have her as a wife, and he cannot dismiss her throughout all the days of his life.

But if what he has claimed is true and virginity is not found in the girl,

then they shall throw her down, outside the doors of her father’s house, and the men of that city shall stone her to death, and she shall die. For she has acted wickedly in Israel, in that she fornicated in her father’s house. And so shall you take away the evil from your midst.

If a man sleeps with the wife of another, then they shall both die, that is, the adulterer and the adulteress. And so shall you take away the evil from Israel.

If a man has betrothed a girl who is a virgin, and if someone finds her in the city and he lies with her,

then you shall lead them both out to the gate of that city, and they shall be stoned to death: the girl, because she did not cry out though she was in the city; the man, because he has humiliated the wife of his neighbor. And so shall you take away the evil from your midst.

But if a man discovers, in the countryside, a girl who has been betrothed, and, apprehending her, he lies with her, then he alone shall die.

The girl shall suffer nothing, nor is she guilty unto death. For just as a robber rises up against his brother and slays his life, so also did the girl suffer greatly.

She was alone in the field. She cried out, and there was no one nearby, who might deliver her.

If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who does not have a betrothal, and, taking her, he lies with her, and the matter is brought to judgment,

then he who slept with her shall give to the father of the girl fifty shekels of silver, and he shall have her as a wife, because he has humiliated her. He cannot dismiss her, throughout all the days of his life.

No man shall take his father’s wife, nor remove her covering.”

Footnotes

(a)22:6 you shall not take, etc.:This was to show them to exercise a certain mercy even to irrational creatures; and by that means to train them up to a horror of cruelty; and to the exercise of humanity and mutual charity one to another.(Challoner)

(b)22:8 Battlement:This precaution was necessary, because all their houses had flat tops, and it was usual to walk and to converse together upon them.(Challoner)

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.