Deuteronomy 24
English Standard Version
Laws Concerning Divorce
24 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and (A)he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, 3 and the latter man hates 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 man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then (B)her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
Miscellaneous Laws
5 (C)“When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year (D)to be happy with his wife[a] whom he has taken.
6 “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.
7 (E)“If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he (F)treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. (G)So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
8 “Take care, in (H)a case of leprous[b] disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to (I)Miriam (J)on the way as you came out of Egypt.
10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. 13 (K)You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and (L)bless you. And (M)it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.
14 “You shall not (N)oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 (O)You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), (P)lest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.
16 (Q)“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 (R)“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, (S)or take a widow's garment in pledge, 18 but (T)you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
19 (U)“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, (V)that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 (W)You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 24:5 Or to make happy his wife
- Deuteronomy 24:8 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
Deuteronomy 24
Christian Standard Bible
Marriage and Divorce Laws
24 “If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.(A) 2 If after leaving his house she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the second man hates her, writes her a divorce certificate, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house or if he dies, 4 the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt on the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.(B)
5 “When a man takes a bride, he must not go out with the army or be liable for any duty. He is free to stay at home for one year, so that he can bring joy to the wife he has married.
Safeguarding Life
6 “Do not take a pair of grindstones or even the upper millstone as security for a debt, because that is like taking a life as security.
7 “If a man is discovered kidnapping(C) one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from you.
8 “Be careful with a person who has a case of serious skin disease, following carefully everything the Levitical priests instruct you to do. Be careful to do as I have commanded them. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt.(D)
Consideration for People in Need
10 “When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect what he offers as security. 11 Stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you. 12 If he is a poor man, do not sleep with the garment he has given as security. 13 Be sure to return it[a] to him at sunset. Then he will sleep in it and bless you, and this will be counted as righteousness to you before the Lord your God.(E)
14 “Do not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether one of your Israelite brothers or one of the resident aliens in a town[b] in your land. 15 You are to pay him his wages each day before the sun sets, because he is poor and depends on them.(F) Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be held guilty.
16 “Fathers are not to be put to death for their children, and children are not to be put to death for their fathers; each person will be put to death for his own sin.(G) 17 Do not deny justice to a resident alien or fatherless child, and do not take a widow’s garment as security. 18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed(H) you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.(I)
19 “When you reap the harvest in your field, and you forget a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.(J) 20 When you knock down the fruit from your olive tree, do not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left. What remains will be for the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.(K)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.