Various Laws

24 “If a man chooses to enter into marriage with a woman, but she finds herself displeasing to him because he has found something objectionable^[a] about her, he must draw up divorce papers, hand them to her, and then send her out of his house. ² If she goes out from his house, becomes the wife of another man, ³ and this second husband^[b] dislikes her, he, also, must draw up divorce papers, hand them to her, and then send her away from his house. Should the second husband die, ⁴ her first husband who married her and divorced her earlier must not remarry her,^[c] because she was defiled, since this is detestable to the Lord. Don’t defile the land that the Lord your God is about to give you as a possession.

⁵ “When a man is newly married, he must not be sent out to war or have a related duty placed on him. Let him stay home for one year and be happy with his wife whom he has married.

⁶ “Don’t take a pair of millstones, especially the upper millstone, as collateral for a loan, because this means taking a man’s^[d] livelihood.

⁷ “If a man is found kidnapping his relative, a fellow Israeli, and mistreats or sells him, that kidnapper must die. By doing this, you will remove this evil from among you.

⁸ “In cases of leprosy, be very careful to observe exactly what the Levitical priests instructed you. Carefully follow what I have commanded them. ⁹ Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way as you were coming out of Egypt.”

Respecting the Poor

¹⁰ “When you loan something to your neighbor, don’t enter his house to seize what he offered as collateral. ¹¹ Stay outside and let the man to whom you made the loan bring it^[e] out to you. ¹² If he is a poor man, don’t go to sleep with his collateral in your possession.^{[f] 13} Be sure to return his garment^[g] to him at sunset so that he may sleep with it, and he will bless you. It will be a righteous deed in the presence of the Lord your God. ¹⁴ Don’t take advantage of a hired person who is poor and needy, whether he’s your fellow citizen or a foreigner who lives in your city. ¹⁵ Pay his wages that same day before the sun sets, because he is poor and his livelihood^[h] depends on it. Otherwise, he may cry out to the Lord against you, and you will incur guilt.”

Practicing Justice

¹⁶ “Fathers are not to be put to death on account of their children’s sin; nor are children to die on account of their fathers’ sin. Each person is to be put to death for his own sin.

¹⁷ “Don’t deny justice to a foreigner or to an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment as collateral for a loan. ¹⁸ Remember to observe this because you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I am commanding you to do this.

¹⁹ “When you are reaping in the field, and you overlook a sheaf, don’t return to get it. Let it remain for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless everything you undertake. ²⁰ When you harvest the olives from your trees, don’t go back to the branches a second time. What remains is for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow. ²¹ When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, don’t go back a second time. What remains is for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow. ²² Remember to do this because you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I’m commanding you to do this.”