Deuteronomy 22:10

Young's Literal Translation

`Thou dost not plow with an ox and with an ass together.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Hebrew Names Version
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

King James Version
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Lexham English Bible
"You shall not plow with an ox and with a donkey yoked together.

English Standard Version
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

New Century Version
Don't plow with an ox and a donkey tied together.

New English Translation
You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.

Amplified Bible
"You shall not plow with an ox [a clean animal] and a donkey [an unclean animal] together.

New American Standard Bible
"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thou shalt not plow with an oxe and an asse together.

Legacy Standard Bible
"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Contemporary English Version
Don't hitch an ox and a donkey to your plow at the same time.

Complete Jewish Bible
You are not to plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Darby Translation
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.

Easy-to-Read Version
"You must not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

George Lamsa Translation
You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Good News Translation
"Do not hitch an ox and a donkey together for plowing.

Literal Translation
You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou shalt not plowe with an oxe and an Asse together at one tyme.

American Standard Version
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Bible in Basic English
Do not do your ploughing with an ox and an ass yoked together.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou shalt not plowe with an oxe and an asse together.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

King James Version (1611)
Thou shalt not plow with an oxe and an asse together.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.

English Revised Version
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Berean Standard Bible
Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thou schalt not ere with an oxe and asse togidere.

Update Bible Version
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

World English Bible
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

New King James Version
"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

New Living Translation
"You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.

New Life Bible
Do not plow with a bull and a donkey together.

New Revised Standard
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together,

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.

Revised Standard Version
You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.

THE MESSAGE
Don't plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Contextual Overview

⁵ `The habiliments of a man are not on a woman, nor doth a man put on the garment of a woman, for the abomination of Jehovah thy God [is] any one doing these. <sup>6</sup> `When a bird's nest cometh before thee in the way, in any tree, or on the earth, brood or eggs, and the mother sitting on the brood or on the eggs, thou dost not take the mother with the young ones; ⁷ thou dost certainly send away the mother, and the young ones dost take to thyself, so that it is well with thee, and thou hast prolonged days. ⁸ `When thou buildest a new house, then thou hast made a parapet to thy roof, and thou dost not put blood on thy house when one falleth from it. <sup>9</sup> `Thou dost not sow thy vineyard [with] divers things, lest the fulness of the seed which thou dost sow, and the increase of the vineyard, be separated. ¹⁰ `Thou dost not plow with an ox and with an ass together. <sup>11</sup> `Thou dost not put on a mixed cloth, wool and linen together. ¹² `Fringes thou dost make to thee on the four skirts of thy covering with which thou dost cover [thyself].

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Two different species cannot associate comfortably together, nor pull pleasantly either in cart or plough; and the ass being lower than the ox, when yoked, he must bear the principal part of the weight. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16

Cross-References

Genesis 22:6
And Abraham taketh the wood of the burnt-offering, and placeth on Isaac his son, and he taketh in his hand the fire, and the knife; and they go on both of them together.

Genesis 22:12
and He saith, `Put not forth thine hand unto the youth, nor do anything to him, for now I have known that thou art fearing God, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only one, from Me.'

Genesis 22:17
that blessing I bless thee, and multiplying I multiply thy seed as stars of the heavens, and as sand which [is] on the sea-shore; and thy seed doth possess the gate of his enemies;

Genesis 22:19
And Abraham turneth back unto his young men, and they rise and go together unto Beer-Sheba; and Abraham dwelleth in Beer-Sheba.

Genesis 22:21
Huz his first-born, and Buz his brother; and Kemuel father of Aram,

Genesis 22:23
and Bethuel hath begotten Rebekah;' these eight hath Milcah borne to Nahor, Abraham's brother;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together,.... They might be used separately, but not together; nor was it uncommon in some countries for asses to be employed in ploughing as well as oxen. Pliny h makes mention of some fruitful land in Africa, which when it was dry weather could not be ploughed by oxen, but after showers of rain might be ploughed by a mean little ass; so Leo Africanus i says, the Africans only use horses and asses in ploughing. The reason why they were not to be put together was either (as some think) lest the law should be broken which forbids the gendering of cattle with a divers kind, Leviticus 19:19 but Aben Ezra thinks the reason is, because the strength of an ass is not equal to the strength of an ox; and therefore he supposes this law is made from the mercy and commiseration of God extended to all his creatures; though perhaps the better reason is, because the one was a clean creature, and the other an unclean, and this instance is put for all others; and with which agree the Jewish canons, which run thus,

"cattle with cattle, wild beasts with wild beasts, unclean with unclean, clean with clean (i.e. these may be put together); but unclean with clean, and clean with unclean, are forbidden to plough with, to draw with, or to be led together k.''

The mystery of this is, that godly and ungodly persons are not to be yoked together in religious fellowship: see 2 Corinthians 6:14.

h Nat. Hist. l. 17. c. 5. i Descriptio Africae, l. 2. p. 104. k Misn. Celaim, c. 8. sect. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Compare the marginal reference. The prohibition of Deuteronomy 22:10 was also dictated by humanity. The ox and the donkey being of such different size and strength, it would be cruel to the latter to yoke them together. These two animals are named as being those ordinarily employed in agriculture; compare Isaiah 32:20.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 22:10. Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass — It is generally supposed that mixtures of different sorts in seed, breed, c., were employed for superstitious purposes, and therefore prohibited in this law. It is more likely, however, that there was a physical reason for this two beasts of a different species cannot associate comfortably together, and on this ground never pull pleasantly either in cart or plough; and every farmer knows that it is of considerable consequence to the comfort of the cattle to put those together that have an affection for each other. This may be very frequently remarked in certain cattle, which, on this account, are termed true yoke-fellows. After all, it is very probable that the general design was to prevent improper alliances in civil and religious life. And to this St. Paul seems evidently to refer, 2 Corinthians 6:14: Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers; which is simply to be understood as prohibiting all intercourse between Christians and idolaters in social, matrimonial, and religious life. And to teach the Jews the propriety of this, a variety of precepts relative to improper and heterogeneous mixtures were interspersed through their law, so that in civil and domestic life they might have them ever before their eyes.