^22:1When you see¹ your neighbor’s² ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it;³ you must return it without fail⁴ to your neighbor. ^22:2If the owner⁵ does not live⁶ near you or you do not know who the owner is,⁷ then you must corral the animal⁸ at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him. ^22:3You shall do the same to his donkey, his clothes, or anything else your neighbor⁹ has lost and you have found; you must not refuse to get involved.¹⁰^22:4When you see¹¹ your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen along the road, do not ignore it;¹² instead, you must be sure¹³ to help him get the animal on its feet again.¹⁴

^22:5A woman must not wear men’s clothing,¹⁵ nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive¹⁶ to the Lord your God.

^22:6If you happen to notice a bird’s nest along the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and there are chicks or eggs with the mother bird sitting on them,¹⁷ you must not take the mother from the young.¹⁸^22:7You must be sure¹⁹ to let the mother go, but you may take the young for yourself. Do this so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.

^22:8If you build a new house, you must construct a guard rail²⁰ around your roof to avoid being culpable²¹ in the event someone should fall from it.

Illustrations of the Principle of Purity

^22:9You must not plant your vineyard with two kinds of seed; otherwise the entire yield, both of the seed you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled.²²^22:10You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together. ^22:11You must not wear clothing made with wool and linen meshed together.²³^22:12You shall make yourselves tassels²⁴ for the four corners of the clothing you wear.

Purity in the Marriage Relationship

^22:13Suppose a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her,²⁵ and then rejects²⁶ her, ^22:14accusing her of impropriety²⁷ and defaming her reputation²⁸ by saying, “I married this woman but when I had sexual relations²⁹ with her I discovered she was not a virgin!” ^22:15Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity³⁰ for the elders of the city at the gate. ^22:16The young woman’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected³¹ her. ^22:17Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, ‘I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,’ but this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!” The cloth must then be spread out³² before the city’s elders. ^22:18The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish³³ him. ^22:19They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, for the man who made the accusation³⁴ ruined the reputation³⁵ of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

^22:20But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin, ^22:21the men of her city must bring the young woman to the door of her father’s house and stone her to death, for she has done a disgraceful thing³⁶ in Israel by behaving like a prostitute while living in her father’s house. In this way you will purge³⁷ evil from among you.

^22:22If a man is caught having sexual relations with³⁸ a married woman³⁹ both the man who had relations with the woman and the woman herself must die; in this way you will purge⁴⁰ evil from Israel.

^22:23If a virgin is engaged to a man and another man meets⁴¹ her in the city and has sexual relations with⁴² her, ^22:24you must bring the two of them to the gate of that city and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry out though in the city and the man because he violated⁴³ his neighbor’s fiancée;⁴⁴ in this way you will purge⁴⁵ evil from among you. ^22:25But if the man came across⁴⁶ the engaged woman in the field and overpowered her and raped⁴⁷ her, then only the rapist⁴⁸ must die. ^22:26You must not do anything to the young woman—she has done nothing deserving of death. This case is the same as when someone attacks another person⁴⁹ and murders him, ^22:27for the man⁵⁰ met her in the field and the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.

^22:28Suppose a man comes across a virgin who is not engaged and overpowers and rapes⁵¹ her and they are discovered. ^22:29The man who has raped her must pay her father fifty shekels of silver and she must become his wife because he has violated her; he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

^{22:30 (23:1)}⁵² A man may not marry⁵³ his father’s former⁵⁴ wife and in this way dishonor his father.⁵⁵

Purity in Public Worship

^23:1A man with crushed¹ or severed genitals² may not enter the assembly of the Lord.³^23:2A person of illegitimate birth⁴ may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so.⁵

^23:3An Ammonite or Moabite⁶ may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever⁷ do so,⁸^23:4for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired⁹ Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you. ^23:5But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed¹⁰ the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God loves¹¹ you. ^23:6You must not seek peace and prosperity for them through all the ages to come. ^23:7You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative;¹² you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner¹³ in his land. ^23:8Children of the third generation born to them¹⁴ may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Purity in Personal Hygiene

^23:9When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure.¹⁵^23:10If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission,¹⁶ he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately. ^23:11When evening arrives he must wash himself with water and then at sunset he may reenter the camp.

^23:12You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine.¹⁷^23:13You must have a spade among your other equipment and when you relieve yourself¹⁸ outside you must dig a hole with the spade¹⁹ and then turn and cover your excrement.²⁰^23:14For the Lord your God walks about in the middle of your camp to deliver you and defeat²¹ your enemies for you. Therefore your camp should be holy, so that he does not see anything indecent²² among you and turn away from you.

Purity in the Treatment of the Nonprivileged

^23:15You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you.²³^23:16Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages²⁴ he prefers; you must not oppress him.

Purity in Cultic Personnel

^23:17There must never be a sacred prostitute²⁵ among the young women²⁶ of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute²⁷ among the young men²⁸ of Israel. ^23:18You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute²⁹ or the wage of a male prostitute³⁰ into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Respect for Others’ Property

^23:19You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite,³¹ whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest. ^23:20You may lend with interest to a foreigner, but not to your fellow Israelite; if you keep this command the Lord your God will bless you in all you undertake in the land you are about to enter to possess. ^23:21When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he³² will surely³³ hold you accountable as a sinner.³⁴^23:22If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. ^23:23Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering. ^23:24When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please,³⁵ but you must not take away any in a container.³⁶^23:25When you go into the ripe grain fields of your neighbor you may pluck off the kernels with your hand,³⁷ but you must not use a sickle on your neighbor’s ripe grain.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1 Heb “you must not see,” but, if translated literally into English, the statement is misleading.
2 Heb “brother’s” (also later in this verse). In this context it is not limited to one’s siblings, however; cf. “your kinsman’s.”
3 Heb “hide yourself.”
4 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail.”
5 Heb “your brother” (also later in this verse).
6 Heb “is not.” The idea of “residing” is implied.
7 Heb “and you do not know him.”
8 Heb “it”; the referent (the ox or sheep mentioned in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 Heb “your brother” (also in v. 4).
10 Heb “you must not hide yourself.”
11 Heb “you must not see.” See note at .
12 Heb “and (must not) hide yourself from them.”
13 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “be sure.”
14 Heb “help him to lift them up.” In keeping with English style the singular is used in the translation, and the referent (“the animal”) has been specified for clarity.
15 Heb “a man’s clothing.”
16 The Hebrew term תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “offense”) speaks of anything that runs counter to ritual or moral order, especially (in the OT) to divine standards. Cross-dressing in this covenant context may suggest homosexuality, fertility cult ritual, or some other forbidden practice.
17 Heb “and the mother sitting upon the chicks or the eggs.”
18 Heb “sons,” used here in a generic sense for offspring.
19 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation seeks to reflect with “be sure.”
20 Or “a parapet” (so , , ); “a battlement”; “a barrier.”
21 Heb “that you not place bloodshed in your house.”
22 Heb “set apart.” The verb קָדַשׁ (qadash) in the Qal verbal stem (as here) has the idea of being holy or being treated with special care. Some take the meaning as “be off-limits, forfeited,” i.e., the total produce of the vineyard, both crops and grapes, have to be forfeited to the sanctuary (cf. Exod 29:37; 30:29; Lev 6:18, 27; Num 16:37–38; Hag 2:12).
23 The Hebrew term שַׁעַטְנֵז (sha’atnez) occurs only here and in Lev 19:19. takes it to be a contraction of words (שַׁשׁ [shash, “headdress”] + עַטְנַז [’atnaz, “strong”]). 1043 שַׁעַטְנֵז offers the translation “mixed stuff” (cf. “woven with two kinds of yarn”; , , , “woven together”). The general meaning is clear even if the etymology is not.
24 Heb “twisted threads” (גְּדִלִים, gédilim) appears to be synonymous with צִיצִת (tsitsit) which, in Num 15:38, occurs in a passage instructing Israel to remember the covenant. Perhaps that is the purpose of the tassels here as well. Cf. , “fringes”; “twisted cords.”
25 Heb “goes to her,” a Hebrew euphemistic idiom for sexual relations.
26 Heb “hate.” See note on the word “other” in . Cf. “comes to dislike”; “turns against”; “decides he doesn’t want.”
27 Heb “deeds of things”; “makes up charges against her”; “slanders her.”
28 Heb “brings against her a bad name”; “gives her a bad name.”
29 Heb “drew near to her.” This is another Hebrew euphemism for having sexual relations.
30 In light of v. 17 this would evidently be blood-stained sheets indicative of the first instance of intercourse. See E. H. Merrill, Deuteronomy (), .
31 Heb “hated.” See note on the word “other” in .
32 Heb “they will spread the garment.”
33 Heb “discipline.”
34 Heb “for he”; the referent (the man who made the accusation) has been specified in the translation to avoid confusion with the young woman’s father, the last-mentioned male.
35 Heb “brought forth a bad name.”
36 The Hebrew term נְבָלָה (névalah) means more than just something stupid. It refers to a moral lapse so serious as to jeopardize the whole covenant community (cf. Gen 34:7; Judg 19:23; 20:6, 10; Jer 29:23). See C. Pan, 3:. Cf. “she committed a crime against Israel.”
37 Heb “burn.” See note on .
38 Heb “lying with” (so , ), a Hebrew idiom for sexual relations.
39 Heb “a woman married to a husband.”
40 Heb “burn.” See note on the phrase “purge out” in .
41 Heb “finds.”
42 Heb “lies with.”
43 Heb “humbled.”
44 Heb “wife.”
45 Heb “burn.” See note on the phrase “purge out” in .
46 Heb “found,” also in vv. 27, 28.
47 Heb “lay with” here refers to a forced sexual relationship, as the accompanying verb “seized” (חָזַק, khazaq) makes clear.
48 Heb “the man who lay with her, only him.”
49 Heb “his neighbor.”
50 Heb “he”; the referent (the man who attacked the woman) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
51 Heb “lies with.”
52 Beginning with 22:30, the verse numbers through 23:25 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (), with 22:30 = 23:1 , 23:1 = 23:2 , 23:2 = 23:3 , etc., through 23:25 = 23:26 . With 24:1 the verse numbers in the and are again the same.
53 Heb “take.” In context this refers to marriage, as in the older English expression “take a wife.”
54 This presupposes either the death of the father or their divorce since it would be impossible for one to marry his stepmother while his father was still married to her.
55 Heb “uncover his father’s skirt” (so , ). This appears to be a circumlocution for describing the dishonor that would come to a father by having his own son share his wife’s sexuality (cf. , “dishonor his father’s bed”).
1 Heb “bruised by crushing,” which many English versions take to refer to crushed testicles (, , ); “who has been castrated.”
2 Heb “cut off with respect to the penis”; , “hath his privy member cut off”; English versions vary in their degree of euphemism here; cf. , , , “penis”; “male organ”; “sex organ”; “private parts”; “emasculated by crushing or cutting.”
3 The Hebrew term translated “assembly” (קָהָל, qahal) does not refer here to the nation as such but to the formal services of the tabernacle or temple. Since emasculated or other sexually abnormal persons were commonly associated with pagan temple personnel, the thrust here may be primarily polemical in intent. One should not read into this anything having to do with the mentally and physically handicapped as fit to participate in the life and ministry of the church.
4 Or “a person born of an illegitimate marriage.”
5 Heb “enter the assembly of the Lord.” The phrase “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
6 An Ammonite or Moabite. These descendants of Lot by his two daughters (cf. Gen 19:30–38) were thereby the products of incest and therefore excluded from the worshiping community. However, these two nations also failed to show proper hospitality to Israel on their way to Canaan (v. 4).
7 The Hebrew term translated “ever” (עַד־עוֹלָם, ’ad-’olam) suggests that “tenth generation” (vv. 2, 3) also means “forever.” However, in the OT sense “forever” means not “for eternity” but for an indeterminate future time. See A. Tomasino, 3:.
8 Heb “enter the assembly of the Lord.” The phrase “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
9 Heb “hired against you.”
10 Heb “the Lord your God changed.” The phrase “the Lord your God” has not been included in the translation here for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy. Moreover, use of the pronoun “he” could create confusion regarding the referent (the Lord or Balaam).
11 The verb אָהַב (’ahav, “love”) here and commonly elsewhere in the Book of Deuteronomy speaks of God’s elective grace toward Israel. See note on the word “loved” in .
12 Heb “brother.”
13 Heb “sojourner.”
14 Concessions were made to the Edomites and Egyptians (as compared to the others listed in vv. 1–6) because the Edomites (i.e., Esauites) were full “brothers” of Israel and the Egyptians had provided security and sustenance for Israel for more than four centuries.
15 Heb “evil.” The context makes clear that this is a matter of ritual impurity, not moral impurity, so it is “evil” in the sense that it disbars one from certain religious activity.
16 Heb “nocturnal happening.” The Hebrew term קָרֶה (qareh) merely means “to happen” so the phrase here is euphemistic (a “night happening”) for some kind of bodily emission such as excrement or semen. Such otherwise normal physical functions rendered one ritually unclean whether accidental or not. See Lev 15:16–18; 22:4.
17 Heb “so that one may go outside there.” This expression is euphemistic.
18 Heb “sit.” This expression is euphemistic.
19 Heb “with it”; the referent (the spade mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 Heb “what comes from you,” a euphemism.
21 Heb “give [over] your enemies.”
22 Heb “nakedness of a thing”; “any shameful thing.” The expression עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (’ervat davar) refers specifically to sexual organs and, by extension, to any function associated with them. There are some aspects of human life that are so personal and private that they ought not be publicly paraded. Cultically speaking, even God is offended by such impropriety (cf. Gen 9:22–23; Lev 18:6–12, 16–19; 20:11, 17–21). See B. Seevers, 3:.
23 The Hebrew text includes “from his master,” but this would be redundant in English style.
24 Heb “gates.”
25 The Hebrew term translated “sacred prostitute” here (קְדֵשָׁה [qédeshah], from קַדֵשׁ [qadesh, “holy”]; cf. “shrine prostitute”; “cult prostitute”; , , “temple prostitute”) refers to the pagan fertility cults that employed female and male prostitutes in various rituals designed to evoke agricultural and even human fecundity (cf. Gen 38:21–22; 1 Kgs 14:24; 15:12; 22:47; 2 Kgs 23:7; Hos 4:14). The Hebrew term for a regular, noncultic (i.e., “secular”) female prostitute is זוֹנָה (zonah).
26 Heb “daughters.”
27 The male cultic prostitute was called קָדֵשׁ (qadesh; see note on the phrase “sacred prostitute” earlier in this verse). The colloquial Hebrew term for a “secular” male prostitute (i.e., a sodomite) is the disparaging epithet כֶּלֶב (kelev, “dog”) which occurs in the following verse (cf. , , , ).
28 Heb “sons.”
29 Here the Hebrew term זוֹנָה (zonah) refers to a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) female prostitute; see note on the phrase “sacred prostitute” in v. .
30 Heb “of a dog.” This is the common Hebrew term for a noncultic (i.e., “secular”) male prostitute. See note on the phrase “sacred male prostitute” in v. .
31 Heb “to your brother” (likewise in the following verse). Since this is not limited to actual siblings, “fellow Israelite” is used in the translation (cf. , “countrymen”).
32 Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
33 The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by “surely.”
34 Heb “and it will be a sin to you”; , , “be guilty of sin.”
35 Heb “grapes according to your appetite, your fullness.”
36 Heb “in your container”; , “your basket.”
37 For the continuation of these practices into NT times see Matt 12:1–8; Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5.