Deuteronomy 22–23

22ND CHAPTER

¹If you see another Israelite’s ox or sheep out where it doesn’t belong, don’t pretend that you don’t see it. Make sure you take it back. ²If the owner doesn’t live near you or you don’t know who owns it, take the animal home with you. Keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then give it back. ³Do the same if you find a donkey, some clothes, or anything else that another Israelite may have lost. Don’t pretend that you don’t know what to do. 

⁴If you see another Israelite’s donkey or ox lying on the road, don’t pretend that you don’t see it. Make sure you help him get it back on its feet. 

⁵A woman must never wear anything men would wear, and a man must never wear women’s clothes. Whoever does this is disgusting to the Lord your God. 

⁶Whenever you’re traveling and find a nest containing chicks or eggs, this is what you must do. If the mother bird is sitting on the nest, never take her with the chicks. ⁷You may take the chicks, but make sure you let the mother go. Then things will go well for you, and you will live for a long time. 

⁸Whenever you build a new house, put a railing around the edge of the roof. Then you won’t be responsible for a death at your home if someone falls off the roof. 

⁹Never plant anything between the rows in your vineyard. Otherwise, you will have to give everything that grows there to the holy place. This includes the crop you planted and the grapes from the vineyard. 

¹⁰Never plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together. 

¹¹Never wear clothes made of wool and linen woven together. 

¹²Make tassels on the four corners of the shawl you wear over your clothes. 

Laws about Sex and Marriage

¹³A man might marry a woman, sleep with her, and decide he doesn’t like her. ¹⁴Then he might make up charges against her and ruin her reputation by saying, “I married this woman. But when I slept with her, I found out she wasn’t a virgin.” ¹⁵The girl’s father and mother must go to the city gate where the leaders of the city are and submit the evidence that their daughter was a virgin. ¹⁶The girl’s father will tell the leaders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he doesn’t like her. ¹⁷Now he has made up charges against her. He says he found out that my daughter wasn’t a virgin. But here’s the evidence!” Then the girl’s parents must spread out the cloth in front of the leaders of the city. ¹⁸The leaders of that city must take the man and punish him. ¹⁹They will fine him 2¼ pounds of silver and give it to the girl’s father. The husband ruined the reputation of an Israelite virgin. She will continue to be his wife, and he can never divorce her as long as he lives. 

²⁰But if the charge is true, and no evidence that the girl was a virgin can be found, ²¹they must take the girl to the entrance of her father’s house. The men of her city must stone her to death because she has committed such a godless act in Israel: She had sex before marriage, while she was still living in her father’s house. You must get rid of this evil. 

²²If a man is caught having sexual intercourse with a married woman, both that man and the woman must die. You must get rid of this evil in Israel. 

²³This is what you must do when a man has sexual intercourse with a virgin who is engaged to another man. If this happens in a city, ²⁴take them to the gate of the city and stone them to death. The girl must die because she was in a city and didn’t scream for help. The man must die because he had sex with another man’s wife. You must get rid of this evil. 

²⁵But if a man rapes an engaged girl out in the country, then only the man must die. ²⁶Don’t do anything to the girl. She has not committed a sin for which she deserves to die. This is like the case of someone who attacks and murders another person. ²⁷The man found the girl out in the country. She may have screamed for help, but no one was there to rescue her. 

²⁸This is what you must do when a man rapes a virgin who isn’t engaged. When the crime is discovered, ²⁹the man who had sexual intercourse with her must give the girl’s father 1¼ pounds of silver, and she will become his wife. Since he raped her, he can never divorce her as long as he lives.^a

³⁰A man must never marry his father’s wife because this would disgrace his father. 

23RD CHAPTER^a

Various Laws

¹A man whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off may never join the assembly of the Lord. 

²A man born from an illicit union may not join the assembly of the Lord. No descendant of his may join the assembly of the Lord for ten generations. 

³Ammonites or Moabites may not join the assembly of the Lord. Not one descendant of theirs may join the assembly of the Lord for ten generations. ⁴They cannot join because they didn’t greet you with food and water on your trip from Egypt. They even hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor in Aram Naharaim, to curse you. ⁵But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. Instead, he turned Balaam’s curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you. ⁶Never offer them peace or friendship as long as you live. 

⁷Never consider the Edomites disgusting. They’re your relatives. Never consider the Egyptians disgusting. You once were foreigners living in their country. ⁸Their grandchildren may join the assembly of the Lord. 

⁹When you’re at war and have set up camp to fight your enemies, stay away from anything that will make you unclean.^b10If one of your men becomes unclean from a nocturnal emission, he must go outside the camp and stay there. ¹¹Toward evening he must wash, and at sunset he may come back to camp. 

¹²Choose a place outside the camp where you can go ⸤to relieve yourself⸥. ¹³You must carry a pointed stick as part of your equipment. When you go outside to squat, dig a hole with it. When you’re done, cover up your excrement. ¹⁴The Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and hand your enemies over to you. So your camp must always be holy. This way, the Lord will never see anything offensive among you and turn away from you. 

¹⁵If a slave escapes from his master and comes to you, don’t return him to his master. ¹⁶Let him stay with you ⸤and live⸥ among your people wherever he chooses, in any of your cities that seems best to him. Never mistreat him. 

¹⁷No Israelite man or woman should ever become a temple prostitute. ¹⁸Never bring gifts or money earned by prostitution into the house of the Lord your God as an offering you vowed to give. These earnings are disgusting to the Lord your God. 

¹⁹Never charge another Israelite any interest on money, food, or anything else that is borrowed. ²⁰You may charge a foreigner interest, but not an Israelite. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do once you’ve entered the land and taken possession of it. 

²¹If you make a vow to the Lord your God, don’t avoid keeping it. The Lord your God expects you to keep it. You would be guilty of a sin if you didn’t. ²²If you didn’t make a vow, you would not be guilty. ²³Make sure you do what you said you would do ⸤in your vow⸥. You freely chose to make your vow to the Lord your God. 

²⁴If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you like until you’re full. But never put any in your basket. ²⁵If you go into your neighbor’s grain field, you may pick grain by hand. But never use a sickle to cut your neighbor’s grain.