Study Desk

then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out for help [though she was] in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor's [promised] wife. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

"But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no sin worthy of death, for this is the same as when a man attacks his neighbor and murders him.

When he found her in the [open] field, the engaged girl [may have] cried out for help, but there was no one to [hear and] save her.

"Nevertheless, the LORD your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the LORD your God has loved you.

"You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother [Esau's descendant]. You shall not detest an Egyptian, because you were a stranger (resident alien, foreigner) in his land.

"You shall not bring the wages of a prostitute or the price of a dog [that is, a male prostitute] into the house of the LORD your God as payment for any vow, for both of these [the gift and the giver] are utterly repulsive to the LORD your God.

"You shall not charge interest to your fellow Israelite—interest on money, food or anything that may be loaned for interest.

"When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for He will most certainly require it of you, and a delay would cause you to sin.

then her former husband who [first] sent her away may not take her again as his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an outrage before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

"When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out [to fight] with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home for one year and shall bring happiness to his wife whom he has taken.

"No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone [used to grind grain into bread] as security [for a debt], for he would be taking a [person's] life in pledge.

"You shall give him his wages on the day that he earns them before the sun sets—for he is poor and is counting on it—so that he does not cry out to the LORD against you, and it becomes a sin for you.

"The fathers shall not be put to death for [the sins of] their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; [only] for his own sin shall anyone be put to death.

"You shall not pervert the justice due a stranger or an orphan, nor seize (impound) a widow's garment as security [for a loan].

"When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf [of grain] in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

"When you beat [the olives off of] your olive tree, do not search through the branches again; [whatever is left] shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow.

"When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the orphan, and for the widow.

then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity [for her].

"For everyone who does such things, everyone who acts unjustly [without personal integrity] is utterly repulsive to the LORD your God.

'Then we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers for help, and He heard our voice and saw our suffering and our labor and our [cruel] oppression;