Deuteronomy Chapter 22
Showing all 30 verses for Deuteronomy Chapter 22.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. "
"If you see your fellow Israelite's ox or sheep wandering off, don't ignore it - you must take it back to him."
Jesus asks: why would you walk past someone else's loss and pretend you didn't see it? Love is not passive - it notices a wandering ox and a wandering soul and does something about it. Caring for what belongs to your neighbour is one of the simplest, most concrete ways to love them.
"And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, 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. "
"If the owner doesn't live nearby, or you don't know who it belongs to, bring the animal to your own home and keep it there until its owner comes looking for it, then give it back."
Jesus says true kindness goes further than a quick glance - it takes the trouble to keep something safe until the rightful owner can be found. He is teaching patient responsibility: love doesn't just notice a need once, it carries the burden until the matter is properly resolved.
"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. "
"Do the same with a donkey, with clothing, or with anything else your fellow Israelite has lost that you happen to find - you must not ignore it."
Jesus widens the lesson: it isn't only livestock, it's raiment and anything at all that your brother has lost. He is teaching that love must be comprehensive - you cannot pick and choose which forms of care to offer while ignoring the rest.
"Thou shalt 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. "
"If you see your fellow Israelite's donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, don't ignore it - you must help him get it back up."
Jesus teaches that seeing someone struggling under a burden - literally an animal fallen in the road - and looking away is a failure of love, however inconvenient stopping might be. He calls his followers to get their hands dirty helping others back onto their feet.
"The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God. "
"A woman must not wear anything that belongs to a man's wardrobe, and a man must not put on a woman's clothing; anyone who does this is detestable to the LORD your God."
Jesus reads this verse as guarding the honesty of who we are before God and each other, not as fuel for shaming people over dress. He calls us to humility and integrity in identity rather than using this ancient rule to judge or exclude others - our worth before God is never about clothing.
"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 siting upon the young, or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young: "
"If you happen to come across a bird's nest, either in a tree or on the ground, with chicks or eggs in it and the mother bird sitting on them, you must not take the mother along with the young."
Jesus points to a mother bird as a picture of mercy - even when taking food, leave gentleness and life intact where you can. It's a small law with a big heart: never take more than you need, and never destroy what sustains life for the sake of convenience.
"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. "
"You must let the mother bird go free, though you may take the young for yourself; do this and things will go well for you, and you will live a long life."
Jesus notes the promise attached here: mercy towards the smallest of God's creatures brings blessing and long life. He teaches that kindness is never wasted - even unseen, ordinary acts of restraint and compassion shape a life that flourishes.
"When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence. "
"When you build a new house, put a parapet - a low wall or railing - around your flat roof, so that you don't bring the guilt of bloodshed on your household if someone falls off it."
Jesus turns this into a call for responsibility: build your life, and your home, so that others are kept safe rather than endangered by your carelessness. Love thinks ahead about how our choices might harm someone else, and takes practical steps to prevent it.
"Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled. "
"Do not plant your vineyard with two different kinds of seed, or the entire harvest - both the crop you planted and the grapes from the vineyard - will be forfeited."
Jesus sees in this small farming rule a bigger truth: mixing things that don't belong together can spoil the good fruit meant to flourish. He calls us to integrity - keeping our lives, our devotion, and our commitments whole rather than diluted by things pulling in opposite directions.
"Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. "
"Do not plough with an ox and a donkey yoked together."
Jesus sees mercy tucked into this rule - an ox and an ass are unevenly matched, and yoking them together only causes suffering to the weaker animal. He calls his people to notice mismatched burdens and refuse partnerships that grind down the vulnerable.
"Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together. "
"Do not wear clothing woven from two different kinds of material, such as wool and linen together."
Jesus reads this as another small picture of undivided, uncompromised living - wearing one thing consistently rather than a mixture. He is not concerned with fabric, but with the deeper call to be whole-hearted rather than a patchwork of conflicting loyalties.
"Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself. "
"Make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear."
Jesus notes that God asked his people to wear a visible reminder - fringes - to keep his commandments in mind all day long. He teaches that small, deliberate reminders of God's presence in ordinary life can keep our hearts anchored in love and faithfulness.
"If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, "
"Suppose a man marries a woman, sleeps with her, and then decides he doesn't want her,"
Jesus sees the danger here before the injustice even begins - a husband turning against his wife out of mere dislike. He calls husbands to examine their own hearts first, rather than let resentment curdle into false accusation against someone who trusted them.
"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: "
"and gives her a bad reputation by spreading rumours, claiming, 'I married this woman, but when I slept with her, I found she was not a virgin.'"
Jesus condemns the injustice of a man inventing a false accusation to damage his wife's reputation and escape responsibility. He calls us instead to guard the good name of others fiercely, especially those who have no easy way to defend themselves.
"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: "
"then the young woman's father and mother are to bring evidence of her virginity to the elders at the town gate."
Jesus notes how this law gave a wrongly accused woman's parents a real, public voice to defend her before the community's leaders. He teaches that those who are vulnerable to slander deserve advocates willing to stand up publicly on their behalf.
"And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her; "
"The young woman's father is to say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, and now he doesn't want her."
Jesus hears in this father's plea the ache of a parent defending a child against injustice. He calls us to be that kind of advocate too - willing to stand publicly and speak plainly when someone we love is wronged.
"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. "
"and now he has spread rumours against her, saying he did not find her a virgin. But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity.' And they are to spread out the cloth before the town elders."
Jesus points to the evidence being brought into the open - truth exposed publicly clears the innocent. He teaches that when false claims are made, the answer is not silence or shame but bringing the facts honestly into the light.
"And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; "
"Then the elders of that town are to take the man and punish him."
Jesus affirms that a community's elders bear real responsibility to correct a man who has wronged someone weaker than himself with lies. Justice, done rightly, protects the vulnerable and holds the powerful accountable rather than looking away.
"And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, 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 may not put her away all his days. "
"They are to fine him a hundred shekels of silver, given to the young woman's father, because he has damaged the reputation of a virgin of Israel. She remains his wife, and he may never divorce her for as long as he lives."
Jesus notes the cost placed on slander here - the man must pay dearly and lose the power to simply discard the wife he wronged. He teaches that words which damage another person's honour carry real consequences, and love commits to making things right, not walking away from the harm caused.
"But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: "
"But if the accusation turns out to be true, and no evidence of the young woman's virginity is found,"
Jesus takes seriously that truthfulness matters on every side of a dispute - the text does not simply assume the woman is innocent for its own sake, but pursues what actually happened. He calls his followers to genuinely seek the truth rather than assume the version that is easiest or most convenient.
"Then 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. "
"then the young woman is to be brought to the entrance of her father's house, and the men of her town are to stone her to death, because she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being sexually unfaithful while still in her father's household. In this way you will purge this evil from among you."
Jesus, who himself stood between an accused woman and a crowd ready with stones, shows us in the gospels how this harsh penalty is not the final word of God's heart towards the fallen. He calls us to remember mercy, and to see that grace, not stoning, is what he brought into the world for those who have sinned.
"If 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. "
"If a man is discovered sleeping with another man's wife, both of them are to die - the man who slept with her and the woman. In this way you will purge this evil from Israel."
Jesus takes adultery with total seriousness as a betrayal of covenant trust, yet in his own ministry he meets a woman caught in exactly this sin not with stones but with forgiveness and a call to change. He teaches that sin is never trivial, but neither is anyone beyond mercy and a fresh start.
"If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; "
"If a young woman who is engaged to be married is in the city, and a man meets her there and sleeps with her,"
Jesus underscores that betrothal was treated with the weight of marriage itself, so violating it was no small matter to God. He calls us to honour every promise of faithfulness we make to another person, understanding how seriously God takes commitments of the heart.
"Then 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: so thou shalt put away evil from among you. "
"you are to bring them both to the gate of that town and stone them to death - the young woman because she was in the city and did not cry out for help, and the man because he violated another man's fiancée. In this way you will purge this evil from among you."
Jesus notes this harsh law assumed a city dweller could have cried for help and been heard - it was about protecting the community, not assuming guilt without cause. He calls us to examine circumstances honestly and never rush to blame a victim without understanding what was truly possible for them.
"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: "
"But if the man finds the engaged young woman out in the countryside, and he overpowers her and rapes her, only the man who did this is to die."
Jesus draws attention to how the law distinguishes force from consent - only the attacker bears guilt, never the victim. He calls his people to see clearly who the wrongdoer truly is in any situation of abuse, and to never let blame fall on the one who was harmed.
"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: "
"Do nothing to the young woman; she has done nothing deserving death. This case is just like when someone attacks and murders their neighbour -"
Jesus highlights God's tender insistence here - there is no sin worthy of death in the victim, full stop. He teaches that compassion, not condemnation, is owed to anyone who has suffered violence, and no one should ever be shamed for what was done to them against their will.
"For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her. "
"because he found her out in the field, and though the engaged young woman cried out for help, there was no one there to save her."
Jesus points to the mercy embedded in this reasoning - she cried out and no one was there, so she bears no blame. He calls us to imagine ourselves in another's helplessness before we judge, and to extend the same compassion God extends to those who suffer alone.
"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 found; "
"Suppose a man comes across a young woman who is a virgin and not engaged to anyone, and he seizes her and sleeps with her, and they are discovered -"
Jesus sees here that wrongdoing against a vulnerable woman still carries lasting responsibility - the man cannot simply walk away from what he did. He calls people to lifelong accountability for the harm they cause, not a moment's regret followed by abandonment.
"Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days. "
"then the man who slept with her must pay her father fifty shekels of silver, and she becomes his wife, because he has taken advantage of her; he may never divorce her for as long as he lives."
Jesus notes the safeguard here: she is never to be discarded once wronged, but is guaranteed lifelong provision and protection. He teaches that when we have caused someone harm, love requires standing by the consequences, not abandoning the person once it becomes inconvenient.
"A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor discover his father’s skirt. "
"A man must not marry his father's wife or violate his father's marriage bed."
Jesus points to this boundary as protecting the sacredness of family relationships from betrayal and shame. He calls us to guard the trust within our own households fiercely, treating those closest to us with honour rather than exploiting positions of intimacy and power.