| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1“If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep or goat wandering away, don’t ignore your responsibility. Take it back to its owner. | 1If you see your brother’s ox or sheep straying, you must not ignore it; be sure to return it to your brother. |
| 2If its owner does not live nearby or you don’t know who the owner is, take it to your place and keep it until the owner comes looking for it. Then you must return it. | 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. |
| 3Do the same if you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or anything else your neighbor loses. Don’t ignore your responsibility. | 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. |
| 4“If you see that your neighbor’s donkey or ox has collapsed on the road, do not look the other way. Go and help your neighbor get it back on its feet! | 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. |
| 5“A woman must not put on men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing. Anyone who does this is detestable in the sight of the LORD your God. | 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. |
| 6“If you happen to find a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground, and there are young ones or eggs in it with the mother sitting in the nest, do not take the mother with the young. | 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 let the mother go, so that you may prosper and enjoy a long life. | 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. |
| 8“When you build a new house, you must build a railing around the edge of its flat roof. That way you will not be considered guilty of murder if someone falls from the roof. | 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. |
| 9“You must not plant any other crop between the rows of your vineyard. If you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes from the vineyard or the other crop. | 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. |
| 10“You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together. | 10Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. |
| 11“You must not wear clothing made of wool and linen woven together. | 11Do not wear clothes of wool and linen woven together. |
| 12“You must put four tassels on the hem of the cloak with which you cover yourself—on the front, back, and sides. Regulations for Sexual Purity | 12You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear. |
| 13“Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her | 13Suppose a man marries a woman, has relations with her, and comes to hate her, |
| 14and publicly accuses her of shameful conduct, saying, ‘When I married this woman, I discovered she was not a virgin.’ | 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 woman’s father and mother must bring the proof of her virginity to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. | 15Then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring the proof of her virginity to the city elders at the gate |
| 16Her father must say to them, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, and now he has turned against her. | 16and say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he has come to hate her. |
| 17He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, “I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin.” But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.’ Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders. | 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. |
| 18The elders must then take the man and punish him. | 18Then the elders of that city shall take the man and punish him. |
| 19They must also fine him 100 pieces of silver, which he must pay to the woman’s father because he publicly accused a virgin of Israel of shameful conduct. The woman will then remain the man’s wife, and he may never divorce her. | 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. |
| 20“But suppose the man’s accusations are true, and he can show that she was not a virgin. | 20If, however, this accusation is true, and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, |
| 21The woman must be taken to the door of her father’s home, and there the men of the town must stone her to death, for she has committed a disgraceful crime in Israel by being promiscuous while living in her parents’ home. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you. | 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. |
| 22“If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil. | 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. |
| 23“Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town, | 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 to the gates of that town and stone them to death. The woman is guilty because she did not scream for help. The man must die because he violated another man’s wife. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you. | 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. |
| 25“But if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country, and he rapes her, then only the man must die. | 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; she has committed no crime worthy of death. She is as innocent as a murder victim. | 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. |
| 27Since the man raped her out in the country, it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to rescue her. | 27When he found her in the field, the betrothed woman cried out, but there was no one to save her. |
| 28“Suppose a man has intercourse with a young woman who is a virgin but is not engaged to be married. If they are discovered, | 28If a man encounters a virgin who is not pledged in marriage, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are discovered, |
| 29he must pay her father fifty pieces of silver. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he may never divorce her as long as he lives. | 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. |
| 30 “A man must not marry his father’s former wife, for this would violate his father. | 30A man is not to marry his father’s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father’s marriage bed. |
|
