Deuteronomy 13-22

Christian Standard Bible Anglicised

The False Prophet

13 ‘If a prophet or someone who has dreams^(A) arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, ² and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he says, “Let’s follow other gods,” which you have not known, “and let’s worship them,” ³ do not listen to that prophet’s words or to that dreamer. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul.^{(B) 4} You must follow the Lord your God and fear him. You must keep his commands and listen to him; you must worship him and remain faithful^[a] to him.^{(C) 5} That prophet or dreamer must be put to death,^(D) because he has urged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery,^(E) to turn you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.^(F)

Don’t Tolerate Idolatry

⁶ ‘If your brother, the son of your mother,^[b] or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let’s go and worship other gods” – which neither you nor your ancestors have known, ⁷ any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other –  ⁸ do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity,^[c] and do not spare him or shield him.^{(G) 9} Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.^{(H) 10} Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.^{(I) 11} All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will no longer do anything evil like this among you.^(J)

¹² ‘If you hear it said about one of your cities the Lord your God is giving you to live in, ¹³ that wicked men have sprung up among you, led the inhabitants of their city astray, and said, “Let’s go and worship other gods,” which you have not known,^{(K) 14} you are to enquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable act has been done among you, ¹⁵ you must strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword. Completely destroy everyone in it as well as its livestock with the sword. ¹⁶ You are to gather all its spoil in the middle of the city square and completely burn the city and all its spoil for the Lord your God. The city is to remain a mound of ruins for ever;^(L) it is not to be rebuilt. ¹⁷ Nothing set apart for destruction is to remain in your hand, so that the Lord will turn from his burning anger and grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as he swore to your ancestors. ¹⁸ This will occur if you obey the Lord your God, keeping all his commands I am giving you today, doing what is right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Forbidden Practices

14 ‘You are sons of the Lord your God;^(M) do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head^[d] on behalf of the dead,^{(N) 2} for you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord has chosen you to be his own possession^(O) out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

Clean and Unclean Foods

³ ‘You must not eat any detestable thing. ⁴ These are the animals you may eat:

⁶ You may eat any animal that has hooves divided in two and chews the cud.^{[e] 7} But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you are not to eat these:

Do not eat their meat or touch their carcasses.^(P)

⁹ ‘You may eat everything from the water that has fins and scales, ¹⁰ but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales – it is unclean for you.^(Q)

¹¹ ‘You may eat every clean bird, ¹² but these are the ones you may not eat:

¹⁹ All winged insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten. ²⁰ But you may eat every clean flying creature.^(S)

²¹ ‘You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to a resident foreigner within your city gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

A Tenth for the Lord

²² ‘Each year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields. ²³ You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of the Lord your God at the place where he chooses to have his name dwell,^(T) so that you will always learn to fear^(U) the Lord your God. ²⁴ But if the distance is too great for you to carry it, since the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his name is too far away from you and since the Lord your God has blessed you, ²⁵ then exchange it for silver, take the silver in your hand, and go to the place the Lord your God chooses. ²⁶ You may spend the silver on anything you want: cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, or anything you desire. You are to feast there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your family. ²⁷ Do not neglect the Levite within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.^(V)

²⁸ ‘At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store it within your city gates. ²⁹ Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the resident foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates may come, eat, and be satisfied.^(W) And the Lord your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.^(X)

Debts Cancelled

15 ‘At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.^{(Y) 2} This is how to cancel debt: Every creditor^[h] is to cancel what he has lent his neighbour. He is not to collect anything from his neighbour or brother, because the Lord’s release of debts has been proclaimed. ³ You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you.

⁴ ‘There will be no poor among you, however, because the Lord is certain to bless you in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance^(Z) –  ⁵ if only you obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow every one of these commands I am giving you today. ⁶ When the Lord your God blesses you as he has promised you, you will lend to many nations but not borrow; you will rule many nations, but they will not rule you.

Lending to the Poor

⁷ ‘If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your city gates in the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your poor brother. ⁸ Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. ⁹ Be careful that there isn’t this wicked thought in your heart, “The seventh year, the year of cancelling debts, is near,” and you are stingy towards your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty. ¹⁰ Give to him, and don’t have a stingy heart^[i] when you give, and because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you do.^{[j] 11} For there will never cease to be poor people in the land;^(AA) that is why I am commanding you, “Open your hand willingly to your poor and needy brother in your land.”

Release of Slaves

¹² ‘If your fellow Hebrew, a man or woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, you must set him free in the seventh year.^{(AB) 13} When you set him free, do not send him away empty-handed. ¹⁴ Give generously to him from your flock, your threshing-floor, and your winepress. You are to give him whatever the Lord your God has blessed you with. ¹⁵ Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed^(AC) you; that is why I am giving you this command today.^{(AD) 16} But if your slave says to you, “I don’t want to leave you,” because he loves you and your family, and is well off with you, ¹⁷ take an awl and pierce through his ear into the door, and he will become your slave for life. Also treat your female slave the same way. ¹⁸ Do not regard it as a hardship^[k] when you set him free, because he worked for you six years – worth twice the wages of a hired worker. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.^(AE)

Consecration of Firstborn Animals

¹⁹ ‘Consecrate to the Lord your God every firstborn male produced by your herd and flock.^(AF) You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work or shear the firstborn of your flock. ²⁰ Each year you and your family are to eat it before the Lord your God in the place the Lord chooses. ²¹ But if there is a defect in the animal, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you may not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. ²² Eat it within your city gates; both the unclean person and the clean may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or deer. ²³ But you must not eat its blood; pour it on the ground like water.^(AG)

The Festival of Passover

16 ‘Set aside the month of Abib^[l](AH) and observe the Passover to the Lord your God, because the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib.^{(AI) 2} Sacrifice to the Lord your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the Lord chooses to have his name dwell.^{(AJ) 3} Do not eat leavened bread with it.^(AK) For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of hardship – because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry^(AL) – so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. ⁴ No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days,^(AM) and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.^{(AN) 5} You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns the Lord your God is giving you. ⁶ Sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place where the Lord your God chooses to have his name dwell. Do this in the evening as the sun sets at the same time of day you departed from Egypt. ⁷ You are to cook and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses, and you are to return to your tents in the morning. ⁸ Eat unleavened bread for six days. On the seventh day there is to be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God; do not do any work.

The Festival of Weeks

⁹ ‘You are to count seven weeks, counting the weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing corn.^{(AO) 10} You are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks^(AP) to the Lord your God with a freewill offering^(AQ) that you give in proportion to how the Lord your God has blessed you. ¹¹ Rejoice^(AR) before the Lord your God in the place where he chooses to have his name dwell – you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your city gates, as well as the resident foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow among you. ¹² Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully follow these statutes.

The Festival of Shelters

¹³ ‘You are to celebrate the Festival of Shelters^(AS) for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing-floor and winepress.^{(AT) 14} Rejoice during your festival – you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the resident foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your city gates. ¹⁵ You are to hold a seven-day festival for the Lord your God in the place he chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands,^(AU) and you will have abundant joy.

¹⁶ ‘All your males are to appear three times a year^(AV) before the Lord your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters. No one is to appear before the Lord empty-handed.^{(AW) 17} Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you.

Appointing Judges and Officials

¹⁸ ‘Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgement. ¹⁹ Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.^{(AX) 20} Pursue justice and justice alone, so that you will live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.^(AY)

Forbidden Worship

²¹ ‘Do not set up an Asherah of any kind of wood next to the altar you will build for the Lord your God, ²² and do not set up a sacred pillar; the Lord your God hates them.^(AZ)

17 ‘Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, for that is detestable to the Lord your God.^(BA)

The Judicial Procedure for Idolatry

² ‘If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the Lord your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violating his covenant^{(BB) 3} and has gone to serve other gods^(BC) by bowing in worship to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky^(BD) – which I have forbidden^(BE) –  ⁴ and if you are told or hear about it, then investigate it thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable act has been done in Israel, ⁵ you are to bring out to your city gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death.^{(BF) 6} The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses.^(BG) No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness. ⁷ The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people.^(BH) You must purge the evil from you.^(BI)

Difficult Cases

⁸ ‘If a case is too difficult for you – concerning bloodshed,^(BJ) lawsuits,^(BK) or assaults^(BL) – cases disputed at your city gates,^(BM) then go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. ⁹ You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case. ¹⁰ You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do exactly as they instruct you. ¹¹ You must abide by the instruction they give you and the verdict they announce to you. Do not turn to the right or the left from the decision they declare to you. ¹² The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there serving the Lord your God or to the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. ¹³ Then all the people will hear about it, be afraid, and no longer behave arrogantly.

Appointing a King

¹⁴ ‘When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you,^(BN) take possession of it, live in it, and say, “I will set a king over me like all the nations around me,” ¹⁵ you are to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses.^(BO) Appoint a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people.^{(BP) 16} However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the Lord has told you, “You are never to go back that way again.”^{(BQ) 17} He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray.^(BR) He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself.^{(BS) 18} When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear^(BT) the Lord his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes. ²⁰ Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years^[m] in Israel.

Provisions for the Levites

18 ‘The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, will have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They will eat the Lord’s food offerings; that is their^[n][o] inheritance. ² Although Levi has no inheritance among his brothers, the Lord is his inheritance, as he promised him.^{(BU) 3} This is the priests’ share from the people who offer a sacrifice, whether it is an ox, a sheep, or a goat; the priests are to be given the shoulder, jaws, and stomach. ⁴ You are to give him the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and fresh oil,^(BV) and the first sheared wool of your flock. ⁵ For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes to stand and minister in his name from now on.^{[p] 6} When a Levite leaves one of your towns in Israel where he was staying and wants to go to the place the Lord chooses, ⁷ he may serve in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who minister there in the presence of the Lord. ⁸ They will eat equal portions besides what he has received from the sale of the family estate.^[q](BW)

Occult Practices versus Prophetic Revelation

⁹ ‘When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations.^{(BX) 10} No one among you is to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire,^[r](BY) practise divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practise sorcery, ¹¹ cast spells, consult a medium or a spiritist, or enquire of the dead.^{(BZ) 12} Everyone who does these acts is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable acts. ¹³ You must be blameless before the Lord your God. ¹⁴ Though these nations you are about to drive out listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do this.

¹⁵ ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers.^(CA) You must listen to him. ¹⁶ This is what you requested from the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not continue to hear the voice of the Lord our God or see this great fire any longer, so that we will not die! ”^{(CB) 17} Then the Lord said to me, “They have spoken well. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. ¹⁹ I will hold accountable whoever does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name.^{(CC) 20} But the prophet who presumes to speak a message in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods – that prophet must die.” ²¹ You may say to yourself, “How can we recognise a message the Lord has not spoken? ” ²² When a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name, and the message does not come true or is not fulfilled, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.

Cities of Refuge

19 ‘When the Lord your God annihilates the nations whose land he is giving you,^(CD) so that you drive them out and live in their cities and houses, ² you are to set apart three cities for yourselves within the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.^{(CE) 3} You are to determine the distances^[s] and divide the land the Lord your God is granting you as an inheritance into three regions, so that anyone who commits manslaughter can flee to these cities.^[t]

⁴ ‘Here is the law concerning a case of someone who kills a person and flees there to save his life, having killed his neighbour accidentally without previously hating him: ⁵ If, for example, he goes into the forest with his neighbour to cut timber, and his hand swings the axe to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes his neighbour so that he dies, that person may flee to one of these cities and live. ⁶ Otherwise, the avenger of blood in the heat of his anger^[u] might pursue the one who committed manslaughter, overtake him because the distance is great, and strike him dead. Yet he did not deserve to die,^[v] since he did not previously hate his neighbour. ⁷ This is why I am commanding you to set apart three cities for yourselves. ⁸ If the Lord your God enlarges your territory as he swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised to give them –  ⁹ provided you keep every one of these commands I am giving you today and follow them, loving the Lord your God and walking in his ways at all times – you are to add three more cities to these three. ¹⁰ In this way, innocent blood will not be shed, and you will not become guilty of bloodshed in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.^{(CF) 11} But if someone hates his neighbour, lies in ambush for him, attacks him, and strikes him fatally, and flees to one of these cities, ¹² the elders of his city are to send for him, take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood and he will die. ¹³ Do not look on him with pity but purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, and you will prosper.

Boundary Markers

¹⁴ ‘Do not move your neighbour’s boundary marker,^(CG) established at the start in the inheritance you will receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

Witnesses in Court

¹⁵ ‘One witness cannot establish any iniquity or sin against a person, whatever that person has done.^(CH) A fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.^(CI)

¹⁶ ‘If a malicious witness^(CJ) testifies against someone accusing him of a crime, ¹⁷ the two people in the dispute are to stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and judges in authority at that time. ¹⁸ The judges are to make a careful investigation, and if the witness turns out to be a liar who has falsely accused his brother, ¹⁹ you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from you. ²⁰ Then everyone else will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything evil like this among you.^{(CK) 21} Do not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.^(CL)

Rules for War

20 ‘When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours,^(CM) do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,^(CN) is with you. ² When you are about to engage in battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army.^{(CO) 3} He is to say to them, “Listen, Israel: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you^(CP) against your enemies to give you victory.”

⁵ ‘The officers are to address the army, “Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate it. ⁶ Has any man planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy its fruit?^[w] Let him leave and return home. Otherwise he may die in battle and another man enjoy its fruit.^{[x] 7} Has any man become engaged to a woman and not married her? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise he may die in battle and another man marry her.” ⁸ The officers will continue to address the army and say, “Is there any man who is afraid or cowardly? Let him leave and return home, so that his brothers won’t lose heart as he did.”^{[y](CQ) 9} When the officers have finished addressing the army, they will appoint military commanders to lead it.

¹⁰ ‘When you approach a city to fight against it, make an offer of peace. ¹¹ If it accepts your offer of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people found in it will become forced labourers for you and serve you.^{(CR) 12} However, if it does not make peace with you but wages war against you, lay siege to it. ¹³ When the Lord your God hands it over to you, strike down all its males with the sword.^{(CS) 14} But you may take the women, dependents, animals, and whatever else is in the city – all its spoil – as plunder. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that the Lord your God has given you. ¹⁵ This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and are not among the cities of these nations. ¹⁶ However, you must not let any living thing survive among the cities of these people the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. ¹⁷ You must completely destroy them – the Hethite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite – as the Lord your God has commanded you, ¹⁸ so that they won’t teach you to do all the detestable acts they do for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God.^(CT)

¹⁹ ‘When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it in order to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can get food from them. Do not cut them down. Are trees of the field human, to come under siege by you? ²⁰ But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce food. You may cut them down to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.

Unsolved Murders

21 ‘If a murder victim is found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, ² your elders and judges are to come out and measure the distance from the victim to the nearby cities. ³ The elders of the city nearest to the victim are to get a young cow that has not been yoked or used for work. ⁴ The elders of that city will bring the cow down to a continually flowing stream, to a place not tilled or sown, and they will break its neck there by the stream. ⁵ Then the priests, the sons of Levi, will come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and pronounce blessings in his name, and they are to give a ruling in^[z] every dispute and case of assault. ⁶ All the elders of the city nearest to the victim will wash their hands by the stream over the young cow whose neck has been broken. ⁷ They will declare, “Our hands did not shed this blood; our eyes did not see it. ⁸ Lord, wipe away the guilt of your people Israel whom you redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” Then the responsibility for bloodshed will be wiped away from them. ⁹ You must purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, for you will be doing what is right in the Lord’s sight.

Fair Treatment of Captured Women

¹⁰ ‘When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God hands them over to you and you take some of them prisoner, and ¹¹ if you see a beautiful woman among the captives, desire her, and want to take her as your wife, ¹² you are to bring her into your house. She is to shave her head, trim her nails, ¹³ remove the clothes she was wearing when she was taken prisoner, live in your house, and mourn for her father and mother a full month. After that, you may have sexual relations with her and be her husband, and she will be your wife. ¹⁴ Then if you are not satisfied with her, you are to let her go where she wants, but you must not sell her or treat her as merchandise,^[aa] because you have humiliated her.

The Right of the Firstborn

¹⁵ ‘If a man has two wives, one loved and the other neglected, and both the loved and the neglected bear him sons, and if the neglected wife has the firstborn son, ¹⁶ when that man gives what he has to his sons as an inheritance, he is not to show favouritism to the son of the loved wife as his firstborn over the firstborn of the neglected wife. ¹⁷ He must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the neglected wife, by giving him two shares^[ab][ac] of his estate, for he is the firstfruits of his virility; he has the rights of the firstborn.^(CU)

A Rebellious Son

¹⁸ ‘If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father or mother and doesn’t listen to them even after they discipline him, ¹⁹ his father and mother are to take hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate^(CV) of his home town. ²⁰ They will say to the elders of his city, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he doesn’t obey us. He’s a glutton and a drunkard.” ²¹ Then all the men of his city will stone him to death.^(CW) You must purge the evil from you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

Display of Executed People

²² ‘If anyone is found guilty of an offence deserving the death penalty and is executed, and you hang his body on a tree, ²³ you are not to leave his corpse on the tree overnight but are to bury him that day, for anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse.^(CX) You must not defile the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.^(CY)

Caring for Your Brother’s Property

22 ‘If you see your brother Israelite’s ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it; make sure you return it to your brother. ² If your brother does not live near you or you don’t know him, you are to bring the animal to your home to remain with you until your brother comes looking for it; then you can return it to him. ³ Do the same for his donkey, his garment, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.^{(CZ) 4} If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen down on the road, do not ignore it; help him lift it up.

Preserving Natural Distinctions

⁵ ‘A woman is not to wear male clothing, and a man is not to put on a woman’s garment, for everyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord your God.

⁶ ‘If you come across a bird’s nest with chicks or eggs, either in a tree or on the ground along the road, and the mother is sitting on the chicks or eggs, do not take the mother along with the young. ⁷ You may take the young for yourself, but be sure to let the mother go free, so that you may prosper and live long. ⁸ If you build a new house, make a railing round your roof, so that you don’t bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it. ⁹ Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; otherwise, the entire harvest, both the crop you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled. ¹⁰ Do not plough with an ox and a donkey together. ¹¹ Do not wear clothes made of both wool and linen.^{(DA) 12} Make tassels on the four corners of the outer garment you wear.^(DB)

Violations of Proper Sexual Conduct

¹³ ‘If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and comes to hate her, ¹⁴ and accuses her of shameful conduct, and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman and was intimate with her, but I didn’t find any evidence of her virginity,” ¹⁵ the young woman’s father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring it to the city elders at the city gate.^{(DC) 16} The young woman’s father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her. ¹⁷ He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘I didn’t find any evidence of your daughter’s virginity,’ but here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.” They will spread out the cloth before the city elders. ¹⁸ Then the elders of that city will take the man and punish him.^{(DD) 19} They will also fine him a hundred silver shekels and give them to the young woman’s father, because that man gave an Israelite virgin a bad name. She will remain his wife; he cannot divorce her as long as he lives. ²⁰ But if this accusation is true and no evidence of the young woman’s virginity is found, ²¹ they will bring the woman to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from you.

²² ‘If a man is discovered having sexual relations with another man’s wife, both the man who had sex with the woman and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. ²³ If there is a young woman who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her, ²⁴ take the two of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death – the young woman because she did not cry out in the city and the man because he has violated his neighbour’s fiancée. You must purge the evil from you. ²⁵ But if the man encounters an engaged woman in the open country, and he seizes and rapes her, only the man who raped her must die. ²⁶ Do nothing to the young woman, because she is not guilty of an offence deserving death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbour and murders him. ²⁷ When he found her in the field, the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her. ²⁸ If a man encounters a young woman, a virgin who is not engaged, takes hold of her and rapes her, and they are discovered, ²⁹ the man who raped her is to give the young woman’s father fifty silver shekels, and she will become his wife because he violated her.^(DE) He cannot divorce her as long as he lives.

³⁰ ‘A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not violate his father’s marriage bed.^[ad](DF)