Study Desk

You may take the young, but let the mother go, so that you may prosper and enjoy a long life.

"Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her

He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, "I discovered that your daughter was not a virgin." But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity.' Then they must spread her bed sheet before the elders.

"But suppose the man's accusations are true, and he can show that she was not a virgin.

"But if the man meets the engaged woman out in the country, and he rapes her, then only the man must die.

Since the man raped her out in the country, it must be assumed that she screamed, but there was no one to rescue her.

"Suppose a man has intercourse with a young woman who is a virgin but is not engaged to be married. If they are discovered,

But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the Lord your God loves you.

You may charge interest to foreigners, but you may not charge interest to Israelites, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.

"When you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not carry any away in a basket.

And when you enter your neighbor's field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle.

"Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house.

But if the second husband also turns against her, writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away, or if he dies,

But never give more than forty lashes; more than forty lashes would publicly humiliate your neighbor.

"But if the man refuses to marry his brother's widow, she must go to the town gate and say to the elders assembled there, ‘My husband's brother refuses to preserve his brother's name in Israel—he refuses to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law by marrying me.'

"You must then say in the presence of the Lord your God, ‘My ancestor Jacob was a wandering Aramean who went to live as a foreigner in Egypt. His family arrived few in number, but in Egypt they became a large and mighty nation.

"The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!

The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.

"But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you: