Deuteronomy 22:1-7

1 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.

2 And even if thy brother is not kin 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 seeks after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again.

3 In like manner shalt thou do with his ass, and so shalt thou do with his clothing; and with any lost thing of thy brother’s, which he has lost, and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise; thou may not draw back from this.

4 Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fallen down by the way and hide thyself from them; thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.

5 The woman shall not wear that which pertains 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.

6 If a bird’s nest is encountered before thee in the way in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the mother with the young.

7 But thou shalt let the mother go and take the young for thyself, that it may be well with thee and that thou may prolong thy days.

Deuteronomy 22:1-7 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 22

In this chapter are various laws, concerning care of a neighbour's cattle gone astray or in distress, and of anything lost by him, De 22:1-4, forbidding one sex to wear the apparel, of another, De 22:5 and the taking away of the dam with the young found in a bird's nest, De 22:6,7, ordering battlements to be made in a new house, De 22:8, prohibiting mixtures in sowing, ploughing, and in garments, De 22:9-11, requiring fringes on the four quarters of a garment, De 22:12, fining a man that slanders his wife, upon producing the tokens of her virginity, De 22:13-19 but if these cannot be produced, then orders are given that she be put to death, De 22:20-21, then follow other laws, punishing with death the adulterer and adulteress, and one that hath ravished a betrothed damsel, De 22:22-27, amercing a person that lies with a virgin not betrothed and she consenting, and obliging him to marry her, and not suffering him to divorce her, De 22:28-29 and another against a man's lying with his father's wife, De 22:30.