Of humanity toward brothers, 1-4. Gender is to be distinguished by apparel, 5. The hen is not to be taken with her young ones, 6, 7. The house must have parapets, 8. Confusion is to be avoided, 9-11. Fringes upon the vesture, 12. The punishment of him who slanders his wife, 13-21. Of adultery, 22; of rape, 23-27; of fornication, 28, 29; of incest, 30.
1 "You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep go astray and hide yourself from them. You shall in any case bring them back to your brother. 2 And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall be with you until your brother seeks after it. Then you shall restore it to him again. 3 Thus you shall do with his donkey and likewise with his clothing, and you shall do the same with all lost things of your brother's which he has lost and you have found. You may not hide yourself. 4 You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fall down by the way, and hide yourself from them. You shall surely help him to lift them up again.
5 "A woman shall not wear that which pertains to a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the LORD your God.
6 "If a bird's nest happens to be before you in the way on any tree or on the ground, whether with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young. 7 But you shall surely let the mother go and take the young to you, so that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days.
8 "When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you may not bring blood upon your house, if any man falls from there.
9 "You shall not sow your vineyard with diverse seeds, lest the fruit of your seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard should be defiled.
10 "You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
11 "You shall not wear a mixed garment [woven] of wool and linen together.
12 "You shall make yourself fringes upon the four quarters of your vesture with which you cover yourself.
13 "If any man takes a wife, goes in to her, and then hates her, 14 And gives occasions of speech against her and brings an evil name upon her, and says, 'I took this woman, and when I came to her, I did not find her a virgin,' 15 Then the father of the young woman, and her mother, shall take and bring forth the tokens of the young woman's virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. 16 And the young woman's father shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man for a wife, and he hates her, 17 And behold, he has given occasions of speech against her, saying, "I did not find your daughter a virgin." And yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity.' And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him. 19 And they shall amerce him one hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought an evil name upon a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife. He may not put her away all his days.
20 "But if this thing is true, and the tokens of virginity are not found for the young woman, 21 Then they shall bring out the young woman to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones so that she may die, because she has wrought folly in Israel by being guilty of lewdness in her father's house. Thus you shall remove evil from among you.
22 "If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall die, both the man who lay with the woman and the woman. Thus you shall remove evil from Israel.
23 "If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds 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 with stones so that they may die—the young woman, because she did not cry, being in the city, and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor's wife. Thus you shall remove evil from among you.
25 "But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the field, and the man forces her and lies with her, then the man only who lay with her shall die. 26 But to the young woman you shall do nothing. There is in the young woman no sin worthy of death. For as when a man rises against his neighbor and slays him, even so is this matter. 27 For he found her in the field, and the betrothed young woman cried, and there was no one to save her.
28 "If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and lays hold upon her and lies with her, and they are found, 29 Then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife. Because he has humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.
30 "A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt."
Matthew Henry Commentary - Deuteronomy, Chapter 22[➚]
[v.11] - Text in square brackets added for implied meaning. This clarifies that the garment being worn is made of material that has wool and linen woven together. From the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary: "The essence of the crime (Zephaniah 1:8) consisted, not in wearing a woollen and a linen robe, but in the two stuffs being woven together, according to a favorite superstition of ancient idolaters." Reference, Leviticus 19:19.