“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,
Parallel translations
- WEB If there is a young lady who is a virgin pledged to be married to a husband, and a man finds her in the city, and lies with her;
- KJV If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
- BSB If there is a virgin pledged in marriage to a man, and another man encounters her in the city and sleeps with her,
- NASB “If there is a girl who is a virgin betrothed to a man, and another man finds her in the city and sleeps with her,
- NLT “Suppose a man meets a young woman, a virgin who is engaged to be married, and he has sexual intercourse with her. If this happens within a town,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A betrothed virgin and a man who lies with her in the city are both treated as guilty of adultery. Betrothal was as binding as marriage.
Overview
In Israel betrothal carried the full force of marriage, so violating a pledged woman was adultery. The setting in the city assumes she could have cried for help, implying consent. The case shows the high view of the marriage covenant from its very beginning, the same betrothal seriousness reflected in Joseph's situation with Mary (Matt 1:18-19).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Matt 1:18–19Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this; for after his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
- Deut 20:7What man is there who has pledged to be married a wife, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.”
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 22:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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