Deuteronomy 22:1-30
Your Neighbor's Property
Read the passage
1If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; be sure to return it to your brother.
2If your brother does not live near you, or if you do not know who he is, you are to take the animal home to remain with you until your brother comes seeking it; then you can return it to him.
3And you shall do the same for his donkey, his cloak, or anything your brother has lost and you have found. You must not ignore it.
4If you see your brother’s donkey or ox fallen on the road, you must not ignore it; you must help him lift it up.
5A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.
6If 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, you must not take the mother along with the young.
7You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
8If you build a new house, you are to construct a railing around your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if someone falls from it.
9Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled—both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.
10Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.
11Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together.
12You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.
13Suppose a man marries a woman, has relations with her, and comes to hate her,
14and he then accuses her of shameful conduct and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman and had relations with her, but I discovered she was not a virgin.”
15Then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring the proof of her virginity to the city elders at the gate
16and say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he has come to hate her.
17And now he has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.’ But here is the proof of her virginity.” And they shall spread out the cloth before the city elders.
18Then the elders of that city shall take the man and punish him.
19They are also to fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given a virgin of Israel a bad name. And she shall remain his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
20If, however, this accusation is true, and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found,
21she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.
22If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
23If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,
24you must take both 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 neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.
25But if the man encounters a betrothed woman in the open country, and he overpowers her and lies with her, only the man who has done this must die.
26Do nothing to the young woman, because she has committed no sin worthy of death. This case is just like one in which a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.
27When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.
28If a man encounters a virgin who is not pledged in marriage, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered,
29then the man who lay with her must pay the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she must become his wife because he has violated her. He must not divorce her as long as he lives.
30A man is not to marry his father’s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father’s marriage bed.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Moses begins with responsibility for a neighbor's lost property. A straying animal must be returned or kept safely until its owner comes looking. A fallen ox or donkey must be helped up. Israel is not free to ignore a need merely because the animal belongs to someone else.
Other commands concern clothing, birds' nests, vineyards, working animals, and tassels. A new house must have a railing around its roof so that a fall does not bring bloodguilt on the household. Preventing harm belongs alongside returning what is lost.
The marriage laws are more difficult. When a husband falsely accuses his bride of not being a virgin, her parents bring a cloth as evidence before the elders. If the accusation is false, he is punished, fined, and forbidden to divorce her. If the charge is true, the prescribed penalty for her is death. Adultery also carries death for both participants. These are Israel's ancient legal procedures, not a modern test of someone's purity.
The law then distinguishes cases involving a betrothed woman. In the city case, both are condemned, with her failure to cry out given as the reason for condemning her. In the countryside, where the man overpowers her and no one is there to save her, only he is to die; she has committed no sin worthy of death. Her assault is compared to a murderous attack.
Another case concerns a man who seizes an unbetrothed woman and lies with her. He must pay her father fifty shekels, marry her, and never divorce her. The text does not describe her consent to that marriage. Its restrictions on the man must not make us overlook the woman's violation or assume that her wishes have been heard.
Questions
1 What should Israel do with a neighbor's wandering animal?
AnswerThey should return it, or keep it safely until the owner came looking for it.
2 Why was a railing required around a new roof?
AnswerIt was to prevent someone from falling and to keep the household from bearing guilt for a preventable death.
3 Who was held guilty when a man overpowered a betrothed woman in the countryside?
AnswerOnly the man was condemned. The woman had committed no sin worthy of death, and the assault was compared to a murderous attack.
4 What happened to a husband whose accusation against his bride was false?
AnswerThe elders punished and fined him for giving her a bad name, and he was forbidden to divorce her.
What This Means for Us
Love of neighbor includes returning what is lost and repairing a danger before someone is hurt. It also requires care when an accusation or another person's power threatens someone who is vulnerable.
An assaulted person must not be blamed for being unable to call for help. Listen without demanding that they prove they reacted in the way you expected. These ancient procedures must not be used to force someone into marriage with an abuser or to silence their account. Make your home a place where practical help and truthful speech protect people.
Prayer
LORD, make us responsible neighbors. Help us notice what is lost or dangerous, protect the vulnerable, and speak truthfully when accusations and relationships are at stake. Amen.