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Statutes About Divorce

24 “If 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, and she goes out of his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 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, 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 Yahweh, and you shall not bring sin on the land which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance.

(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 gladness to his wife whom he has taken.

Remember You Were Slaves in Egypt

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

(F)If a man is [c]caught kidnapping any of his brothers of the sons of Israel, and he mistreats him or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from among you.

(G)Take care against [d]an infection of leprosy, to be very careful and to do according to all that the Levitical priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. Remember what Yahweh 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 deposit. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the deposit out to you. 12 Now if he is an afflicted man, you shall not sleep with his deposit. 13 (J)When the sun goes down you shall surely return the deposit to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and (K)it will be righteousness for you before Yahweh your God.

14 (L)You shall not oppress a hired person who is afflicted and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of your sojourners who is in your land within your gates. 15 (M)You shall give him his wages on his day [e]before the sun goes down, for he is afflicted and sets his soul on it, so that (N)he will not cry against you to Yahweh and it become sin in you.

16 (O)Fathers shall not be put to death [f]for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death [g]for their fathers; each shall be put to death for his own sin.

17 (P)You shall not pervert the justice [h]due a sojourner or [i]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 Yahweh 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 sojourner, for the [j]orphan, and for the widow, in order that Yahweh 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 after you finish; it shall be (V)for the sojourner, for the [k]orphan, and for the widow.

21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it after you finish; it shall be for the sojourner, for the [l]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

  1. Deuteronomy 24:1 Lit if
  2. Deuteronomy 24:3 Lit hates her
  3. Deuteronomy 24:7 Lit found stealing
  4. Deuteronomy 24:8 Lit a mark, a stroke
  5. Deuteronomy 24:15 Lit that the sun shall not go down on it
  6. Deuteronomy 24:16 Or with
  7. Deuteronomy 24:16 Or with
  8. Deuteronomy 24:17 Lit of
  9. Deuteronomy 24:17 Or the fatherless
  10. Deuteronomy 24:19 Or fatherless
  11. Deuteronomy 24:20 Or fatherless
  12. Deuteronomy 24:21 Or fatherless

Restrictions on Divorce

24 When a man takes a woman and marries her, if she is not pleasing to him because he has found something indecent about her, and he writes her a divorce document and hands it to her and sends her out of his house, and she leaves and moves on and becomes the wife of another man, and then that second man hates her and writes her a divorce document and hands it to her and sends her out of his house, or perhaps the second man that took her as a wife dies, in these circumstances her first husband, who sent her away, cannot take her again as his wife after she was stigmatized as impure, because that would be detestable to the Lord. You must not attach guilt to the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

More Miscellaneous Laws

When a man takes a new wife, he must not go out with the army, and no one is to impose any duty on him. He is to be freed from duty for one year for the sake of his homelife so that he may make the woman whom he has married happy.

No person is to hold as security a mill or an upper millstone, because he would be holding someone’s livelihood as security.

If a man is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and enslaving him or selling him, that kidnapper must die, and you will purge the evil from among you.

Be careful during an outbreak of an impure skin disease[a] by being very conscientious about doing everything that the priests, who are Levites, instruct you to do. Take care to do exactly as I have commanded them. Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your journey after coming out of Egypt.

10 When you make a loan to your neighbor, a loan of any kind, do not go into his house to take his security pledge. 11 Stand outside, and the man to whom you are making the loan will bring the pledged object out to you. 12 If he is a poor man, do not sleep in a garment he has pledged as security. 13 You are certainly to return the pledged object to him at sundown so he can sleep in his garment and bless you. Righteousness will be yours before the Lord your God.

14 Do not oppress a hired person who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brother Israelites or one of the aliens who reside in your land inside your gates. 15 Each day, before the sun goes down, pay him his wages, because he is poor and his life depends on it. If you do not, he will cry out against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

16 Fathers are not to be put to death because of their sons, and sons are not to be put to death because of their fathers. Each man is to be put to death because of his own crime.

17 Do not neglect justice for an alien who lives among you or for a fatherless child, and do not take the clothing of a widow as a pledge.

18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, but the Lord your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

19 When you harvest the crops in your field and you forget a bundle in the field, do not return to get it. It will be for the benefit of the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything your hands do.

20 When you beat your olives off the tree, do not strip the boughs clean of olives. Some are to be left for the benefit of the alien, the fatherless, and the widow.

21 When you cut grapes from your vineyard, do not go over it again. Leave some for the benefit of the alien, the fatherless, and the widow.

22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. That is why I am commanding you to do this.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 24:8 Traditionally leprosy