Deuteronomy 22:10

Good News Translation

"Do not hitch an ox and a donkey together for plowing.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Hebrew Names Version
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

King James Version
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Lexham English Bible
"You shall not plow with an ox and with a donkey yoked together.

English Standard Version
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

New Century Version
Don't plow with an ox and a donkey tied together.

New English Translation
You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.

Amplified Bible
"You shall not plow with an ox [a clean animal] and a donkey [an unclean animal] together.

New American Standard Bible
"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thou shalt not plow with an oxe and an asse together.

Legacy Standard Bible
"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Contemporary English Version
Don't hitch an ox and a donkey to your plow at the same time.

Complete Jewish Bible
You are not to plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Darby Translation
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.

Easy-to-Read Version
"You must not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

George Lamsa Translation
You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Literal Translation
You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Thou shalt not plowe with an oxe and an Asse together at one tyme.

American Standard Version
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Bible in Basic English
Do not do your ploughing with an ox and an ass yoked together.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou shalt not plowe with an oxe and an asse together.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

King James Version (1611)
Thou shalt not plow with an oxe and an asse together.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.

English Revised Version
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

Berean Standard Bible
Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thou schalt not ere with an oxe and asse togidere.

Young's Literal Translation
`Thou dost not plow with an ox and with an ass together.

Update Bible Version
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.

World English Bible
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

New King James Version
"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

New Living Translation
"You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together.

New Life Bible
Do not plow with a bull and a donkey together.

New Revised Standard
You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together,

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together.

Revised Standard Version
You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.

THE MESSAGE
Don't plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.

Contextual Overview

⁵ "Women are not to wear men's clothing, and men are not to wear women's clothing; the Lord your God hates people who do such things. ⁶ "If you happen to find a bird's nest in a tree or on the ground with the mother bird sitting either on the eggs or with her young, you are not to take the mother bird. ⁷ You may take the young birds, but you must let the mother bird go, so that you will live a long and prosperous life. ⁸ "When you build a new house, be sure to put a railing around the edge of the roof. Then you will not be responsible if someone falls off and is killed. ⁹ "Do not plant any crop in the same field with your grapevines; if you do, you are forbidden to use either the grapes or the produce of the other crop. ¹⁰ "Do not hitch an ox and a donkey together for plowing. ¹¹ "Do not wear cloth made by weaving wool and linen together. ¹² "Sew tassels on the four corners of your clothes.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Two different species cannot associate comfortably together, nor pull pleasantly either in cart or plough; and the ass being lower than the ox, when yoked, he must bear the principal part of the weight. 2 Corinthians 6:14-16

Cross-References

Genesis 22:6
Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice, and he himself carried a knife and live coals for starting the fire. As they walked along together,

Genesis 22:12
"Don't hurt the boy or do anything to him," he said. "Now I know that you honor and obey God, because you have not kept back your only son from him."

Genesis 22:17
I promise that I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the seashore. Your descendants will conquer their enemies.

Genesis 22:19
Abraham went back to his servants, and they went together to Beersheba, where Abraham settled.

Genesis 22:21
Uz the first-born, Buz his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram,

Genesis 22:23
Rebecca's father. Milcah bore these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together,.... They might be used separately, but not together; nor was it uncommon in some countries for asses to be employed in ploughing as well as oxen. Pliny h makes mention of some fruitful land in Africa, which when it was dry weather could not be ploughed by oxen, but after showers of rain might be ploughed by a mean little ass; so Leo Africanus i says, the Africans only use horses and asses in ploughing. The reason why they were not to be put together was either (as some think) lest the law should be broken which forbids the gendering of cattle with a divers kind, Leviticus 19:19 but Aben Ezra thinks the reason is, because the strength of an ass is not equal to the strength of an ox; and therefore he supposes this law is made from the mercy and commiseration of God extended to all his creatures; though perhaps the better reason is, because the one was a clean creature, and the other an unclean, and this instance is put for all others; and with which agree the Jewish canons, which run thus,

"cattle with cattle, wild beasts with wild beasts, unclean with unclean, clean with clean (i.e. these may be put together); but unclean with clean, and clean with unclean, are forbidden to plough with, to draw with, or to be led together k.''

The mystery of this is, that godly and ungodly persons are not to be yoked together in religious fellowship: see 2 Corinthians 6:14.

h Nat. Hist. l. 17. c. 5. i Descriptio Africae, l. 2. p. 104. k Misn. Celaim, c. 8. sect. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Compare the marginal reference. The prohibition of Deuteronomy 22:10 was also dictated by humanity. The ox and the donkey being of such different size and strength, it would be cruel to the latter to yoke them together. These two animals are named as being those ordinarily employed in agriculture; compare Isaiah 32:20.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 22:10. Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass — It is generally supposed that mixtures of different sorts in seed, breed, c., were employed for superstitious purposes, and therefore prohibited in this law. It is more likely, however, that there was a physical reason for this two beasts of a different species cannot associate comfortably together, and on this ground never pull pleasantly either in cart or plough; and every farmer knows that it is of considerable consequence to the comfort of the cattle to put those together that have an affection for each other. This may be very frequently remarked in certain cattle, which, on this account, are termed true yoke-fellows. After all, it is very probable that the general design was to prevent improper alliances in civil and religious life. And to this St. Paul seems evidently to refer, 2 Corinthians 6:14: Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers; which is simply to be understood as prohibiting all intercourse between Christians and idolaters in social, matrimonial, and religious life. And to teach the Jews the propriety of this, a variety of precepts relative to improper and heterogeneous mixtures were interspersed through their law, so that in civil and domestic life they might have them ever before their eyes.