Deuteronomy 22

1 If you see your brother's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to him.2 If the brother does not live near you or if you do not know who he is, take it home with you and keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him.

3 Do the same if you find your brother's donkey or his cloak or anything he loses. Do not ignore it.

4 If you see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help him get it to its feet.

5 A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.
6 If you come across a bird's nest beside the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother is sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young.

7 You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.

8 When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.

9 Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.

10 Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

11 Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.

12 Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.

Marriage Violations

13 If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her14 and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,”15 then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate.16 The girl's father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her.17 Now he has slandered her and said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity.” Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town,18 and the elders shall take the man and punish him.

19 They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
20 If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found,

21 she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you.

22 If a man is found sleeping 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 If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her,

24 you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die.26 Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor,

27 for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her.
28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered,

29 he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.

30 A man is not to marry his father's wife; he must not dishonor his father's bed.

DEUTERONOMY 22

Helping Others

Moses said to Israel:

1  t If you see a cow or sheep wandering around lost, take the animal back to its owner. 2 If the owner lives too far away, or if you don't know who the owner is, take the animal home with you and take care of it. The owner will come looking for the animal, and then you can give it back.

3 That's what you should do if you find anything that belongs to someone else. Do whatever you can to help, whether you find a cow or sheep or donkey or some clothing.

4 Oxen and donkeys that carry heavy loads can stumble and fall, and be unable to get up by themselves. So as you walk along the road, help anyone who is trying to get an ox or donkey back on its feet.

Don't Pretend To Be //the Opposite Sex

Moses said to Israel:

5 Women must not pretend to be men, and men must not pretend to be women.t The [Lord] your God is disgusted with people who do that.

Don't Take a Mother Bird

Moses said to Israel:

6-7 As you walk along the road, you might see a bird's nest in a tree or on the ground. If the mother bird is in the nest with either her eggs or her baby birds, you are allowed to take the baby birds or the eggs, but not the mother bird. Let her go free, and the [Lord] will bless you with a long and successful life.

Put a Wall around //Your Flat Roof

8 If you build a house, make sure to put a low wall around the edge of the flat roof.t Then if someone falls off the roof and is killed, it won't be your fault.

Laws against Mixing //Different Things

Moses said to Israel:

9  t If you plant a vineyard, don't plant any other fruit tree or crop in it. If you do plant something else there, you must bring to the place of worship everything you harvest from the vineyard.

10 Don't hitch an ox and a donkey to your plow at the same time.
11 When you weave cloth for clothing, you can use thread made of flaxt or wool, but not both together.

12 t And when you make a coat, sew a tassel on each of the four corners.

When a Husband //Accuses His Wife

Moses said to Israel:

14 He might tell ugly lies about her, and say, “I married this woman, but when we slept together, I found out she wasn't a virgin.”
15 If this happens, the bride's father and mother must go to the town gate to show the town leaders the proof that the woman was a virgin. 16 Her father will say, “I let my daughter marry this man, but he started hating her

17 and accusing her of not being a virgin. But he is wrong, because here is proof that she was a virgin!” Then the bride's parents will show them the bed sheet from the woman's wedding night.
18 The town leaders will beat the man with a whip

19 because he accused his bride of not being a virgin. He will have to pay her father 100 pieces of silver and will never be allowed to divorce her.
20 But if the man was right and there is no proof that his bride was a virgin,

21 the men of the town will take the woman to the door of her father's house and stone her to death.
This woman brought evil into your community by sleeping with someone before she got married, and you must get rid of that evil by killing her.

Laws about Illegal Sex

Moses said:

22 People of Israel, if a man is caught having sex with someone else's wife, you must put them both to death. That way, you will get rid of the evil they have done in Israel.

23-24 If a man is caught in town having sex with an engaged woman who isn't screaming for help, they both must be put to death. The man is guilty of having sex with a married woman.t And the woman is guilty because she didn't call for help, even though she was inside a town and people were nearby. Take them both to the town gate and stone them to death. You must get rid of the evil they brought into your community.
25  t If an engaged woman is raped out in the country, only the man will be put to death. 26 Do not punish the woman at all; she has done nothing wrong, and certainly nothing deserving death. This crime is like murder,

27 because the woman was alone out in the country when the man attacked her. She screamed, but there was no one to help her.
28  t Suppose a woman isn't engaged to be married, and a man forces her to have sex with him. If he is caught,

29 they will be forced to get married. He must give her father 50 pieces of silver as a bride-price andt can never divorce her.
30  t A man must not marry a woman who was married to his father. This would be a disgrace to his father.