:first:POTD Turbo!:thumb:
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Originally posted by Turbo
First compare these verses to Exodus 22:16-17. Even NIV and NLT do not pervert the translation:
- (NIV)
If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.
(NLT)
If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged to anyone and sleeps with her, he must pay the customary dowry and accept her as his wife. But if her father refuses to let her marry him, the man must still pay the money for her dowry.
Now, lets look at Deuteronomy 22:
Verse 22 says that adultery is a capital crime. Verses 23-24 explain that someone who is engaged/betrothed should be regarded the same way as a married person. The betrothed woman in this scenario is clearly not raped; it is specified that she “did not scream for help.�
- (NKJV)
22"If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die--the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel.
23"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, 24then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor's wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.
(NIV)
22 If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
23 If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, 24 you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death-the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
In this scenario, the betrothed woman did cry out for help. The crime is likened to a murder. NKJV says the man “forces her and lies with her.� The NIV says the man “rapes her.� It’s not as much a word-for-word translation as other versions, but the meaning is the same.
- (NKJV)
25"But if a man finds a betrothed young woman in the countryside, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die. 26But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter. 27For he found her in the countryside, and the betrothed young woman cried out, but there was no one to save her.
(NIV)
25 But if out in the country a man happens to meet a girl pledged to be married and rapes her, only the man who has done this shall die. 26 Do nothing to the girl; she has committed no sin deserving death. This case is like that of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor, 27 for the man found the girl out in the country, and though the betrothed girl screamed, there was no one to rescue her.
Here’s we have some problems.
- (NKJV)
28"If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, 29then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.
(NIV)
28 If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, 29 he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.
- The phrase translates as “rapes her� is not the same phrase as in the previous scenario (v. 25). The phrase is not “forces her� as before. It’s something like our figure of speech, “sweeps her off her feet.� It doesn’t literally mean he knocked her to the gound, though a translator who is sloppy and/or has an agenda might try to say so.
- There is no mention of the woman screaming for help.
- The previous case emphasized that the woman was not guilty; only the man was to be punished. This one says that “they are discovered/found out.� If the man is caught raping a woman, it doesn’t make sense to say that they are found out as if they are both guilty.
Then there is the matter of common sense. Why would God punish rape victims by forcing them to marry their attackers? What would stop any sleaze from raping any young woman he wants, so long as she isn’t engaged or married? And then he gets to marry her? Come on!
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