1Of humanity toward brethren. 5The sex to be distinguished by apparel. 6The dam not to be taken with her young ones. 8Every house must have battlements. 9Three sorts of confusion to be avoided. 12Fringes to be worn upon the vesture. 13The punishment of him that slandereth his wife, and of the wife, if convicted of unchastity before marriage. 22Adultery to be punished with death. 23Of a rape committed in the city, 25or in the field. 28Of fornication. 30Incest is forbidden.
1THOU shalt not see thy brother’s 1oxa or his sheep 2go astray, and 3hide thyself from them: thou shalt 4in any case bring them again unto thy brother.
1 That is, large cattle.
a Exod. 23:4.
2 Namely, from the way, or, from the flock, and consequently having gone astray.
3 That is, withdraw yourself from them as if you had not seen them, permitting them to wander. Also verses 3, 4.
4 Hebr. sending back send them back.
2And if thy brother be 5not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, 6then thou shalt bring it 7unto thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.
5 That is, dwells too far away.
6 Or, then thou shalt bring them, namely, the ox, whereby is meant also the small cattle, and so in the following words.
7 Hebr. in the midst of the house, that is, shall take them into your house; not suffer them to tarry outside. Compare Judges 19:15.
3In like manner shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his raiment; and with all 8lost thing of thy brother's, which he hath lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise: 9thou mayest not hide thyself.
8 Hebr. the loss.
9 Or, it may not be hid.
4¶Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt 10surely help 11him to lift them up again.
10 Hebr. lifting up lift up.
11 Namely, your brother, whom you shall help to lift them up again.
5¶The woman shall not wear 12that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so 13are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
12 Hebr. dressing, furniture. In the Hebrew there is a word used, of which see Lev. 15:4.
13 Hebr. an abomination of the LORD thy God. See Deut. 17 on verse 1.
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 14sitting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the damb with the 15young:
14 Hebr. reposing.
b mother-animal or bird
15 Hebr. children; and so in the following verse.
7But thou shalt 16in 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.
16 Hebr. letting go let go.
8¶When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a 17battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not 18blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.
17 Because the roofs or house tops in the land of Jewry were subsequently flat that a man could walk upon them. See Judges 16:27; 1 Sam. 9:25, 26; 2 Sam. 11:2; Neh. 8:16; Jer. 19:13; Mat. 10:27; 24:17; Mark 2:4; Acts 10:9.
18 Hebr. bloods.
9¶Thou shalt not sowc thy vineyard with 19divers seeds: lest the 20fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, 21be defiled.
c Lev. 19:19.
19 As in those countries they were wont to sow between the vines all manner of seed, as rice, wheat, barley, etc.
20 That is, the fruits fully ripe. See Exod. 22:29.
21 Or, profaned. Other, hallowed, namely, unto the Lord, and in respect fall to the priests’ share, so that you may not enjoy anything thereof for yourself, because you have acted against the command of the Lord. See Deut. 20 on verse 6.
10¶Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.
11 ¶ 22Thou shalt not wear a garment of diversd sorts, as of woollen and linen together.
22 See Lev. 19:19.
d diverse, various, different*
12¶Thou shalt make thee 23fringese upon the four 24quarters of thy 25vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.
23 Compare Num. 15:38, 39; Mat. 23:5. Other, hems, laces, strings, bindings.
e Num. 15:38; Mat. 23:5.
24 Hebr. wings.
25 Hebr. coverings.
13¶If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,
14And give 26occasions 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:
26 Or, crimes, facts, inventions, fictions.
15Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel’s 27virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:
27 That is, the signs of her virginity; and so in the sequel. See a further explanation of this in verse 17.
16And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;
17And, 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 28they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.
28 Father and mother.
18And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;
19And they shall amercef him in an hundred 29shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because 30he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
f fine, impose a penalty
29 That is, silver-lings, somewhat more than twenty-five rix dollars. See Gen. 20 on verse 16; Gen. 23 on verse 15.
30 The damsel’s husband.
20But if this 31thing be 32true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:
31 Or, word, or, this matter.
32 Hebr. truth.
21Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.
22 ¶ 33Ifg 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.
33 That is, when it is found out that a man has lain with a married woman.
g Lev. 20:10.
23¶If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
24Then 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 34humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
34 As Deut. 21:14, and below verse 29.
25¶But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die:
26But unto the damsel thou shalt do 35nothing; there is in the damsel 36no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and 37slayeth him, 38even so is this matter:
35 Hebr. no thing, no word.
36 That is, no guilt which is worthy of death. Compare Deut. 21 on verse 22.
37 Hebr. smite his soul dead, that is, smites him mortally (as the Holy Scriptures speak often), that is, smites him in such a way that he takes away his life.
38 That is, this is also in this case. As the man is innocent, who is violently murdered, as such is also the damsel innocent, who is violently deflowered.
27For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.
28¶If 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 39found;
39 That is, discovered, their transgression is known.
29Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fiftyh40shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.
h Exod. 22:16.
40 See on verse 19.
30¶A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his 41father’s skirt.
41 That is, the garment of his stepmother. See Lev. 18 on verse 7, 8; Deut. 27:20. The sense is: Thou shalt not lie with thy stepmother.