23:4 “If you encounter 1 your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return 2 it to him.
22:1 When you see 3 your neighbor’s 4 ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it; 5 you must return it without fail 6 to your neighbor. 22:2 If the owner 7 does not live 8 near you or you do not know who the owner is, 9 then you must corral the animal 10 at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him. 22:3 You shall do the same to his donkey, his clothes, or anything else your neighbor 11 has lost and you have found; you must not refuse to get involved. 12
1 tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).
2 tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
3 tn Heb “you must not see,” but, if translated literally into English, the statement is misleading.
4 tn Heb “brother’s” (also later in this verse). In this context it is not limited to one’s siblings, however; cf. NAB “your kinsman’s.”
5 tn Heb “hide yourself.”
6 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with the words “without fail.”
7 tn Heb “your brother” (also later in this verse).
8 tn Heb “is not.” The idea of “residing” is implied.
9 tn Heb “and you do not know him.”
10 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the ox or sheep mentioned in v. 1) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Heb “your brother” (also in v. 4).
12 tn Heb “you must not hide yourself.”