Laws Concerning Sexual Immorality

13 “If any man takes a wife and (A)goes in to her and then hates her 14 and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ 15 then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 16 And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; 17 and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. 18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man and whip[a] him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels[b] of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought a bad name upon a virgin[c] of Israel. And she shall be his wife. (B)He may not divorce her all his days. 20 But if the thing is true, that evidence of virginity was not found in the young woman, 21 then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and (C)the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has (D)done an outrageous thing in Israel by whoring in her father's house. (E)So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

22 (F)“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. (G)So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

23 “If there is a (H)betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. (I)So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

25 “But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor, 27 because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.

28 (J)“If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has violated her. He may not divorce her all his days.

30 [d] (K)“A man shall not take his father's wife, so that he does not (L)uncover his father's nakedness.[e]

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 22:18 Or discipline
  2. Deuteronomy 22:19 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
  3. Deuteronomy 22:19 Or girl of marriageable age
  4. Deuteronomy 22:30 Ch 23:1 in Hebrew
  5. Deuteronomy 22:30 Hebrew uncover his father's skirt

Bible Gateway Recommends

ESV Women's Study Bible--soft leather-look, deep brown
ESV Women's Study Bible--soft leather-look, deep brown
Retail: $69.99
Our Price: $34.00
Save: $35.99 (51%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV One Year Bible, softcover
ESV One Year Bible, softcover
Retail: $18.99
Our Price: $14.99
Save: $4.00 (21%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
Proverbs, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Proverbs, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal
Retail: $8.99
Our Price: $4.99
Save: $4.00 (44%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars