The Fifth Book of Moses, called Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 22
Chapter XXII · Vol. I, pp. 514–515
1 Of humanity toward brethren. 5 The sex is to be distinguished by apparel. 6 The dam is not to be taken with her young ones. 8 Every house must have battlements. 9 Confusion is to be avoided. 12 Fringes upon the vesture. 13 The punishment of him that slandereth his wife. 22 Of adultery, 25 of rape, 28 and of fornication. 30 Incest.
1 THOU ashalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray,1 and hide thyself from them; thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother.
a Ex.23.4. Le.20.4. 1 Th.4.6. ver.3,4. Eze.34.4,16. 1 Pe.2.25. Ja.5.19,20.
1 This law, so benevolent in every state of society, was peculiarly important in a country uninclosed, and where the straying of animals would be proportionately frequent and dangerous. The laws of man's devising, in case of straying animals, bind to restitution or justice; human laws, in some other instances, reward humanity with honour or emolument; the divine laws alone bind to humanity and benevolence on the ground of principle, and that without fee or reward beyond the approbation of conscience and the will of our God.—C.
2 And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not;2 then thou shalt bring it unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.
2 That is, if you find the animal straying, and do not know to whom it belongs, it is your duty to keep it safe until the owner comes to seek it.—P.
3 In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: thou mayest not hide thyself.
4 Thou bshalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them; thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
5 The cwoman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment:3 for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
c 1 Co.11.4,5; 14.34.
3 Minute legislation, when confined to detail, is always, in the end, perplexing and inefficient, and is the chief both of the marks and miseries of human laws—ever generating doubtful definitions, opening new doors for evasion, and ministering to the spirit of litigiousness. When, as in the text, the laws of Moses descend to minuteness, it is the minuteness of principle, and not of detail; and in this they manifest a legislative wisdom which should prove to every jurisconsult that their origin was from God. This law provided for propriety and modesty, in a climate where male and female dresses approached near to each other in character, and guarded against the licentiousness of idolatry to which the interchange of male and female attire greatly contributed.—C.
6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones, or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thoud shalt not take the dam with the young:
7 But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.4
4 Maternal affection renders most birds easily caught during incubation, or while the brood is very young. This law may therefore be considered (1) As a sacrifice of respect to maternal affection wherever found (2) As an inculcation of humanity to the inferior creatures. (3) As a guard against the extirpation of birds, which are providentially appointed as checks upon the overgrowth of various insects—C.
8 When thou buildest a new house, ethen thou shalt make a battlement5 for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.6
A.M. 2553. B.C. 1451.
e 2 Sa.11.2. Is.22.1. Je.19.13. Mat.10.27. Ac.10.9. 1 Co.10.32. 1 Th.5.22.
5 Eastern roofs are generally flat, and, in common houses, merely clay smoothed with a roller—a battlement was therefore a necessary defence against falling, the more requisite because the climate frequently invited to sit, eat, and even sleep, on the roof, and in the open air.—C.
6 During my residence in the East I knew several cases of serious and fatal accidents by falling from the roofs of houses. Not less than one-half of the inhabitants of Palestine sleep on the flat roofs during the warm summer nights. To have them without battlements or railings would expose the children especially to constant danger.—P.
9 Thouf shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds; lest the fruit of thy seed7 which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.8
10 Thou shalt not plow with gan ox and an ass together.
g Le.19.19. 2 Co.6.14-16.
11 Thouh shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.9
h Le.19.19. Ro.3.28. Tit.3.5. Phi.3.9.
9 In warm countries an important law in relation to health, and the prevention of infection; in commercial countries, important to the honesty of manufactures; and, in religion, emblematical of that singleness of eye and of heart so essential to the constitution of a child of God.—C.
12 Thou shalt make thee ifringes1 upon the four quarters2 of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.
14 And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:
15 Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:
16 And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;
17 And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.
18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;
19 And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver[≈ 1.1 kg · 2.5 lb · silver worth ≈ US$2,000],3 and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel, and she shall be his wife: he lmay not put her away all his days.
3 £11, 8s.
l ch.24.1. Mat.19.8.
20 But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:
21 Then they shall bring out the damsel4 to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall mstone her with stones that she die; because she hath wrought nfolly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: oso shalt thou put evil away from among you.
4 This law (ver. 13-21), like many others, was intended to prevent wickedness by the fear of detection and punishment. The dread of a future discovery, productive of such tremendous consequences, could not fail to increase the natural barriers of chastity, and counteract the effects of sinful passions and strong temptations among the young women of Israel. And it would also prevent a hard-hearted husband from robbing his injured wife of her reputation, when his affections were transferred to another object.—Scott.
m Le.24.16. Nu.15.35. ch.13.10; 17.5; 21.21.
n Ge.34.7. 2 Sa.13.13. Le.21.9.
o ch.13.5,11; 17.13; 19.19,20; 21.21. Pr.21.11; 19.25. 1 Ti.5.20. ver.22.
22 Ifp a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.
23 If a damsel that is a virgin be qbetrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
24 Thenr ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: sos thou shalt put away evil from among you.
25 But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man tforce her, and lie with her; then the man only that lay with her shall die:
t Or, take strong hold of her, 2 Sa.13.14. It was supposed that she had cried for relief, but had not been heard.
26 But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:
27 For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel ucried, and there was none to save her.
u 1 Co.13.7.
28 Ifx a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;
x Ex.22.16.
Notes
Reflections.—What love, what decency, what humanity, what order, the laws of God inculcate! Surely it highly becomes us to remember and observe them. In what detestation God holds slanderers, whoremongers, adulterers, and unclean persons! Let them then be detestable among all Christians, especially in my heart. Let me be ever ready for friendly offices towards my neighbour. Let me never retain anything of his that came secretly into my hands. Let it be my care to please God in my apparel: for indecency in dress is not the less sinful because it is fashionable. And while I regard the life of my neighbour, let me shun every unhallowed mixture of works with grace, of nature with the Spirit of God, of my own righteousness with that of Jesus Christ: but never be ashamed to wear the distinguished badge of a true Christian. Let me reckon chastity a very precious jewel; and yet a tender plant that can easily be blasted; and the loss of which is very infamous and sinful. Always let me use every mean of resisting temptation, and particularly crying to Jesus for relief. And if I wrong any, let me repair the injury as far as lies in my power, according to the law of God.
Measures in square brackets are modern equivalents added for this edition. They are not in the King James text or in Brown’s notes. They use common scholarly estimates: a cubit is about 45.7 cm (18 in), a shekel about 11.4 g (0.4 oz), an ephah about 22 litres. Money values give the worth of the silver or gold at spot prices on 28 October 2026, not what the sum would buy in the ancient world.