Deuteronomy 22:1-20
Laws Concerning Preservation of Life
22:1 When you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it; you must return it without fail to your neighbor.
22:2 If the owner does not live near you or you do not know who the owner is, then you must corral the animal 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 has lost and you have found; you must not refuse to get involved.
22:4 When you see your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen along the road, do not ignore it; instead, you must be sure to help him get the animal on its feet again.
22:5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive to the Lord your God.
22:6 If 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, you must not take the mother from the young.
22:7 You must be sure 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.
22:8 If you build a new house, you must construct a guard rail around your roof to avoid being culpable in the event someone should fall from it.
Illustrations of the Principle of Purity
22:9 You 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.
22:10 You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.
22:11 You must not wear clothing made with wool and linen meshed together.
22:12 You shall make yourselves tassels for the four corners of the clothing you wear.
Purity in the Marriage Relationship
22:13 Suppose a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and then rejects her,
22:14 accusing her of impropriety and defaming her reputation by saying, “I married this woman but when I had sexual relations with her I discovered she was not a virgin!”
22:15 Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity for the elders of the city at the gate.
22:16 The young woman’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected her.
22:17 Moreover, 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 out before the city’s elders.
22:18 The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish him.
22:19 They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, for the man who made the accusation ruined the reputation of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
22:20 But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin,