Study Desk

This man accused my daughter of doing wrong and said, "I did not find the proof that your daughter is a virgin." But here is the proof that my daughter was a virgin.' Then they should show the cloth to the town leaders.

"But what the husband said about his wife might be true. The wife's parents might not have the proof that she was a virgin. If this happens,

you must bring them both out to the public place near the gate of that city, and you must kill them with stones. You must kill the man, because he used another man's wife for sexual sin. And you must kill the girl, because she was in the city but did not call for help. You must remove this evil from your people.

"But if a man finds an engaged girl out in the field and forces her to have sexual relations with him, only the man must die.

The man found the engaged girl out in the field and attacked her. Maybe she called for help, but there was no one to help her.

But the Lord your God refused to do what Balaam asked. Instead, the Lord changed the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.

You may charge interest to a foreigner. But you must not charge interest to another Israelite. If you follow these rules, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do in the land where you are going to live.

But you must do what you say you will do. If you choose to make a promise to the Lord your God, you must do what you promised.

"When you go through another person's vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you want. But you cannot put any of the grapes in your basket.

When you go through another person's field of grain, you may eat all the grain you can pick with your hands. But you cannot use a sickle to cut that person's grain and take it with you.

But suppose the new husband also does not like her and sends her away. If that man divorces her, the first husband may not take her again to be his wife. Or if the new husband dies, her first husband may not take her again to be his wife. She has become unclean to him. If he married her again, he would be doing something the Lord hates. You must not sin like this in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

"Two men might be fighting against each other. One man's wife might come to help her husband, but she must not grab the other man's private parts.

That is why you must destroy the memory of the Amalekites from the world. You will do this when you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. There he will give you rest from all the enemies around you. But do not forget to destroy the Amalekites!

Then there before the Lord your God you will say: ‘My ancestor was a wandering Aramean. He went down into Egypt and stayed there. When he went there, he had only a few people in his family. But in Egypt he became a great nation—a powerful nation with many people.

"The Lord will help you defeat your enemies who come to fight against you. Your enemies will come against you one way, but they will run away from you seven different ways!

"But if you don't listen to what the Lord your God tells you—if you don't obey all his commands and laws that I tell you today—then all these bad things will happen to you:

"The Lord will let your enemies defeat you. You will go to fight against your enemies one way, but you will run away from them seven different ways. The bad things that happen to you will make all the people on earth afraid.

"You will be engaged to a woman, but another man will have sexual relations with her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not gather anything from it.

People will kill your cattle in front of you, but you will not eat any of the meat. People will take your donkeys, and they will not give them back to you. Your enemies will get your sheep, and there will be no one to help you.

"Other people will be allowed to take your sons and your daughters. Day after day you will look for your children. You will look for them until your eyes become weak and blind—but you will not find them. And God will not help you.