Deuteronomy 22:2-12

2 And if thy brother be not near unto thee, and thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it unto thy house, and it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it, and thou shalt restore it unto him.

3 And so shalt thou do with his ass; and so shalt thou do with his clothing; and so shalt thou do with everything that is lost of thy brother, which he loseth, and thou findest: thou mayest not hide thyself.

4 Thou shalt not see thy brother's ass or his ox fall by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case [help] him to lift them up.

5 There shall not be a man's apparel on a woman, neither shall a man put on a woman's clothing; for whoever doeth so is an abomination to Jehovah thy God.

6 If a bird's nest chance to be before thee in the way, in any tree, or upon the ground, with young or with eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young:

7 thou shalt in any case let the dam go, and thou mayest take the young to thee, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days.

8 When thou buildest a new house, thou shalt make a parapet for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thy house, if any one should in any wise fall from it.

9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with [seed of] two sorts, lest the whole of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the produce of thy vineyard, be forfeited.

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

11 Thou shalt not wear a garment of mixed material, [woven] of wool and linen together.

12 Tassels shalt thou make thee on the four corners of thy clothing, wherewith thou coverest thyself.

Deuteronomy 22:2-12 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit. 'gather it in the midst of the house.'
• [b]. Lit. '[be] with.'
• [c]. Lit. 'hallowed,' or 'set apart to God,' i.e. appropriated to the sanctuary as a forfeit.
• [d]. Lit. 'covering.'