Deuteronomy

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.

1Do not ignore your brother's ox or sheep when it wanders away. Take it back to him.

Note"Brother" here means any fellow Israelite, not only a brother in your own family.

2And 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.

2Maybe he lives far away. Maybe you do not know who he is. Then take the animal home and keep it. Keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back to him.

3In 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.

3Do the same with his donkey, his coat, or anything else he has lost. If you find it, give it back. Do not ignore it.

4Thou 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.

4Do not ignore your brother's donkey or ox when it falls down on the road. Help him lift it up.

5The 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.

5A woman must not wear men's clothes. A man must not wear women's clothes. The LORD your God hates it when people do this.

6If 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, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:

6You may find a bird's nest beside the road, in a tree or on the ground. There may be baby birds or eggs inside. The mother bird may be sitting on them. Do not take the mother along with the young.

7But 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.

7You may take the young birds. But you must let the mother bird go free. Then things will go well for you, and you will live a long time.

8When 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.

8When you build a new house, build a low wall around the flat roof. Then no one will fall off. If someone did fall, your house would be blamed for that death.

9Thou 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.

9Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard. If you do, the whole crop is spoiled. You may not use the grapes or the other crop.

10Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

10Do not put an ox and a donkey together to pull one plow.

11Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.

11Do not wear cloth that has wool and linen woven together. Linen is cloth made from a plant.

12Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.

12Put tassels on the four corners of the coat you wear. Tassels are little bunches of threads.

13If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,

13A man may marry a woman, have sex with her, and then start to hate her.

14And 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:

14He may say bad things about her so people think badly of her. He may say, "I married this woman. Then I found she was not a virgin." A virgin is someone who has never had sex.

15Then 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:

15Then the young woman's father and mother must bring the proof that she was a virgin. They bring it to the leaders of the city at the city gate.

NoteThe city gate was the open space where the city leaders met to settle arguments, like a courtroom. The "proof" was a cloth from the wedding night that the family kept.

16And the damsel’s father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;

16The young woman's father will say to the leaders, "I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife. Now he hates 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 they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.

17"He says bad things about her. He says my daughter was not a virgin. But here is the proof that she was." Then they spread the cloth out for the city leaders to see.

18And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;

18The leaders of that city will take the man and punish him.

19And 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.

19They will also make him pay a hundred pieces of silver to the young woman's father. He must pay because he gave a bad name to a girl of Israel. She stays his wife. He may never send her away as long as he lives.

NoteA shekel was a weight of silver used as money. A hundred shekels was a very large amount.

20But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:

20But maybe what the man said is true. Maybe there is no proof that she was a virgin.

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.

21Then they will bring her to the door of her father's house. The men of her city will throw stones at her until she dies. She did a shameful thing in Israel by having sex while she lived in her father's house. In this way you get rid of evil among you.

22If 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.

22If a man has sex with another man's wife, both of them must die. The man must die and the woman must die. In this way you get rid of evil in Israel.

23If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;

23A young woman may be promised in marriage to a man. Another man may meet her in the city and have sex 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 humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.

24Then you must bring them both out to the gate of that city. You must throw stones at them until they die. The young woman dies because she did not call for help in the city. The man dies because he took the wife promised to his neighbor. In this way you get rid of evil among you.

25But 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:

25But a man may meet a promised young woman out in the fields. If he forces her and has sex with her, only the man must die.

26But 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:

26Do nothing to the young woman. She has done nothing that deserves death. This case is like a man attacking his neighbor and killing him.

27For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.

27The man found her out in the fields. The promised young woman called for help. But no one was there to save her.

28If 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;

28A man may meet a young woman who is a virgin and not promised to anyone. He may grab her and have sex with her, and people find out.

29Then 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.

29Then the man must pay the young woman's father fifty pieces of silver. She becomes his wife, because he forced her. He may never send her away as long as he lives.

30A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor discover his father’s skirt.

30A man must not marry his father's wife. That would bring shame on his own father.