Deuteronomy 24
Lexham English Bible
24 “When[a] a man takes a wife and he marries her and then[b] she does not please him,[c] because he found something objectionable[d] and writes her a letter of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her away from his house, 2 and she goes from his house, and she goes out and becomes a wife for another man,[e] 3 and then the second man dislikes her and he writes her a letter of divorce and places it into her hand and sends her from his house, or if the second man dies who took her to himself[f] as a wife, 4 her first husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again[g] to become a wife to him after she has been defiled,[h] for that is a detestable thing before[i] Yahweh, and so you shall not mislead into sin the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance.
5 “When[j] a man takes a new wife he shall not go out with the army, and he shall not be obligated with anything;[k] he shall be free from obligation, to stay at home[l] for one year, and he shall bring joy to his wife that he took.
6 “A person[m] shall not take[n] a pair of millstones or an upper millstone, for he is taking necessities of life as a pledge.[o]
7 “If a man is caught[p] kidnapping somebody from among his countrymen,[q] the Israelites,[r] and he treats him as a slave or he sells him, then that kidnapper shall die, and so you shall purge the evil from among you.[s]
8 Be watchful[t] with respect to[u] an outbreak of any infectious skin disease, by being very careful and by acting[v] according to all that the priests and the Levites have instructed you, just as I have commanded them, so you shall diligently observe.[w] 9 So remember what Yahweh your God did to Miriam on the journey when you went out from Egypt.[x]
10 “When you make a loan to your neighbor, a loan of any kind, you shall not go into his house to take his pledge.[y] 11 You shall wait outside, and the man to whom you are lending, he shall bring the pledge outside to you. 12 And if he is a needy man, you shall not sleep in his pledge.[z] 13 You shall certainly return the pledge to him as the sun sets,[aa] so that he may sleep in his cloak and may bless you, and it shall be considered righteousness on your behalf[ab] before[ac] Yahweh your God.
14 “You shall not exploit a hired worker, who is needy and poor, from among your fellow men or from among your aliens[ad] who are in your land and in your towns.[ae] 15 On his day you shall give his wage, and the sun shall not go down,[af] because he is poor and his life depends on it;[ag] do this so that he does not cry out against you to Yahweh, and you incur guilt.[ah]
16 “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, and children shall not be put to death because of their fathers; each one shall be put to death for his own sin. 17 You shall not subvert the rights of an alien or an orphan, and you shall not take as pledge the garment of a widow. 18 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that Yahweh your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this commandment.
19 “When[ai] you reap your harvest in your field and you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to get it, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat off the fruit of your olive trees you shall not search through the branches afterward, for it[aj] shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.
21 When you harvest grapes, you shall not glean your vineyards again;[ak] it[al] shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 22 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 24:1 Or “If”
- Deuteronomy 24:1 Literally “and it will happen”
- Deuteronomy 24:1 Literally “if not she finds favor in his eyes”
- Deuteronomy 24:1 Literally “shameful/repulsive thing”
- Deuteronomy 24:2 Literally “for a man other”
- Deuteronomy 24:3 Literally “to for him”
- Deuteronomy 24:4 Literally “to return to take her”
- Deuteronomy 24:4 Literally “become unclean”
- Deuteronomy 24:4 Literally “to the face of”
- Deuteronomy 24:5 Or “If”
- Deuteronomy 24:5 Literally “he shall not come across come over upon him to anything”
- Deuteronomy 24:5 Literally “for his house”
- Deuteronomy 24:6 Hebrew “he”
- Deuteronomy 24:6 Or “require”
- Deuteronomy 24:6 Literally “for a life he is taking as a pledge”
- Deuteronomy 24:7 Literally “found”
- Deuteronomy 24:7 Or “brothers”
- Deuteronomy 24:7 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 24:7 Literally “from your midst”
- Deuteronomy 24:8 Or “Be careful”
- Deuteronomy 24:8 Literally “against”
- Deuteronomy 24:8 Or “doing”
- Deuteronomy 24:8 Literally “so you shall observe to do”
- Deuteronomy 24:9 Literally “in you to go out from Egypt”
- Deuteronomy 24:10 Literally “to pledge with respect to his pledge”
- Deuteronomy 24:12 “His pledge” refers to “a garment given as pledge”
- Deuteronomy 24:13 Literally “as/at the moment of the going out of the sun”
- Deuteronomy 24:13 Literally “to you”
- Deuteronomy 24:13 Literally “to the face of”
- Deuteronomy 24:14 Hebrew “alien”
- Deuteronomy 24:14 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 24:15 Literally “over him”
- Deuteronomy 24:15 Literally “and to him it is a lifting up with respect to his life/soul”
- Deuteronomy 24:15 Literally “and it becomes against you as sin
- Deuteronomy 24:19 Or “If”
- Deuteronomy 24:20 That is, what is left
- Deuteronomy 24:21 Literally “behind/after you”
- Deuteronomy 24:21 That is, what is left
Deuteronomy 24
Common English Bible
Marriage and divorce
24 Let’s say a man marries a woman, but she isn’t pleasing to him because he’s discovered something inappropriate about her. So he writes up divorce papers, hands them to her, and sends her out of his house. 2 She leaves his house and ends up marrying someone else. 3 But this new husband also dislikes her, writes up divorce papers, hands them to her, and sends her out of his house (or suppose the second husband dies). 4 In this case, the first husband who originally divorced this woman is not allowed to take her back and marry her again after she has been polluted in this way because the Lord detests that. Don’t pollute the land the Lord your God is giving to you as an inheritance.
5 A newly married man doesn’t have to march in battle. Neither should any related duties be placed on him. He is to live free of such responsibilities for one year, so he can bring joy to his new wife.
Pawning
6 Millstones or even just the upper millstone must not be pawned, because that would be pawning someone’s livelihood.
Kidnapping
7 If someone is caught kidnapping their fellow Israelites, intending to enslave the Israelite or sell them, that kidnapper must die. Remove[a] such evil from your community!
Skin disease
8 Be on guard against outbreaks of skin disease[b] by being very careful about what you do. You must carefully do everything the levitical priests teach you, just as I have commanded them. 9 Remember, after all, what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your departure from Egypt!
Loans
10 When you make any type of loan to your neighbor, don’t enter their house to receive the collateral. 11 You must wait outside. The person to whom you are lending will bring the collateral to you out there. 12 Moreover, if the person is poor, you are not allowed to sleep in their pawned coat. 13 Instead, be certain to give the pawned coat back by sunset so they can sleep in their own coat. They will bless you, and you will be considered righteous before the Lord your God.
Payment for workers
14 Don’t take advantage of poor or needy workers, whether they are fellow Israelites or immigrants who live in your land or your cities. 15 Pay them their salary the same day, before the sun sets, because they are poor, and their very life depends on that pay, and so they don’t cry out against you to the Lord. That would make you guilty.
Generational punishment
16 Parents shouldn’t be executed because of what their children have done; neither should children be executed because of what their parents have done. Each person should be executed for their own guilty acts.
Rights of widows, orphans, and immigrants
17 Don’t obstruct the legal rights of an immigrant or orphan. Don’t take a widow’s coat as pledge for a loan. 18 Remember how you were a slave in Egypt but how the Lord your God saved you from that. That’s why I’m commanding you to do this thing.
19 Whenever you are reaping the harvest of your field and you leave some grain in the field, don’t go back and get it. Let it go to the immigrants, the orphans, and the widows so that the Lord your God blesses you in all that you do. 20 Similarly, when you beat the olives off your olive trees, don’t go back over them twice. Let the leftovers go to the immigrants, the orphans, and the widows. 21 Again, when you pick the grapes of your vineyard, don’t pick them over twice. Let the leftovers go to the immigrants, the orphans, and the widows. 22 Remember how you were a slave in Egypt. That’s why I am commanding you to do this thing.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 24:7 Or burn
- Deuteronomy 24:8 Heb uncertain; traditionally leprosy—a term used for several different skin diseases
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