Law of Divorce

24 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens ^[a]that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some ^(A)indecency in her, and ^(B)he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, ² and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife, ³ and if the latter husband ^[b]turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, ⁴ then her ^(C)former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.

⁵ “^(D)When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home one year and shall ^(E)give happiness to his wife whom he has taken.

Sundry Laws

⁶ “No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone in pledge, for he would be taking a life in pledge.

⁷ “^(F)If a man is ^[c]caught kidnapping any of his ^[d]countrymen of the sons of Israel, and he deals with him violently or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from among you.

⁸ “^(G)Be careful against ^[e]an infection of leprosy, that you diligently observe and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you; as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. ⁹ Remember what the Lord your God did ^(H)to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.

¹⁰ “^(I)When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge. ¹¹ You shall remain outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. ¹² If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge. ^13 (J)When the sun goes down you shall surely return the pledge to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and ^(K)it will be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.

¹⁴ “^(L)You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your ^[f]countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your ^[g]towns. ^15 (M)You shall give him his wages on his day ^[h]before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his ^[i]heart on it; so that ^(N)he will not cry against you to the Lord and it become sin in you.

¹⁶ “^(O)Fathers shall not be put to death ^[j]for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death ^[k]for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin.

¹⁷ “^(P)You shall not pervert the justice ^[l]due an alien or ^[m]an orphan, nor ^(Q)take a widow’s garment in pledge. ¹⁸ But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

¹⁹ “^(R)When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be ^(S)for the alien, for the ^[n]orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God ^(T)may bless you in all the work of your hands. ^20 (U)When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs ^[o]again; it shall be ^(V)for the alien, for the ^[p]orphan, and for the widow.

²¹ “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not ^[q]go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the ^[r]orphan, and for the widow. ²² You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

Praise to the Lord, and Warning against Unbelief.

Testing Your Faith

1 ^[a](A)James, a ^(B)bond-servant of God and ^(C)of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To ^(D)the twelve tribes who are ^[b](E)dispersed abroad: ^(F)Greetings.

^2 (G)Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter ^(H)various ^[c]trials, ³ knowing that ^(I)the testing of your ^(J)faith produces ^[d](K)endurance. ⁴ And let ^[e](L)endurance have its perfect ^[f]result, so that you may be ^[g](M)perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

⁵ But if any of you ^(N)lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and ^[h]without reproach, and ^(O)it will be given to him. ⁶ But he must ^(P)ask in faith ^(Q)without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, ^(R)driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ being a ^[i](S)double-minded man, ^(T)unstable in all his ways.

^9 (U)But the ^[j]brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; ¹⁰ and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because ^(V)like ^[k]flowering grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with ^[l](W)a scorching wind and ^(X)withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

^12 (Y)Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has ^[m]been approved, he will receive ^(Z)the crown of life which the Lord ^(AA)has promised to those who ^(AB)love Him. ¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “^(AC)I am being tempted ^[n]by God”; for God cannot be tempted ^[o]by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then ^(AD)when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when ^(AE)sin ^[p]is accomplished, it brings forth death. ^16 (AF)Do not be ^[q]deceived, ^(AG)my beloved brethren. ¹⁷ Every good thing given and every perfect gift is ^(AH)from above, coming down from ^(AI)the Father of lights, ^(AJ)with whom there is no variation or ^[r]shifting shadow. ¹⁸ In the exercise of ^(AK)His will He ^(AL)brought us forth by ^(AM)the word of truth, so that we would be ^[s]a kind of ^(AN)first fruits ^[t]among His creatures.

^19 [u]This ^(AO)you know, ^(AP)my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, ^(AQ)slow to speak and ^(AR)slow to anger; ²⁰ for ^(AS)the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore, ^(AT)putting aside all filthiness and all ^[v]that remains of wickedness, in ^[w]humility receive ^(AU)the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. ^22 (AV)But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his ^[x]natural face ^(AW)in a mirror; ²⁴ for once he has looked at himself and gone away, ^[y]he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. ²⁵ But one who looks intently at the perfect law, ^(AX)the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but ^[z]an effectual doer, this man will be ^(AY)blessed in ^[aa]what he does.

²⁶ If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not ^[ab](AZ)bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. ²⁷ Pure and undefiled religion ^(BA)in the sight of our God and Father is this: to ^(BB)visit ^(BC)orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained ^[ac]by ^(BD)the world.