Add parallel Print Page Options

24 “Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house. When she leaves his house, she is free to marry another man. But if the second husband also turns against her, writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away, or if he dies, the first husband may not marry her again, for she has been defiled. That would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt upon the land the Lord your God is giving you as a special possession.

“A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married.

“It is wrong to take a set of millstones, or even just the upper millstone, as security for a loan, for the owner uses it to make a living.

“If anyone kidnaps a fellow Israelite and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.

“In all cases involving serious skin diseases,[a] be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical priests; obey all the commands I have given them. Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam as you were coming from Egypt.

10 “If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security. 11 You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you. 12 If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight. 13 Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm through the night and bless you, and the Lord your God will count you as righteous.

14 “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns. 15 You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the Lord against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.

16 “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.

17 “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt. 18 Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.

19 “When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all you do. 20 When you beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 21 When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.

Footnotes

  1. 24:8 Traditionally rendered leprosy. The Hebrew word used here can describe various skin diseases.

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, and she goes from his house, and she goes out and becomes a wife for another man,[e] 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, 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.

“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.

“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]

“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]

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] 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

  1. Deuteronomy 24:1 Or “If”
  2. Deuteronomy 24:1 Literally “and it will happen”
  3. Deuteronomy 24:1 Literally “if not she finds favor in his eyes”
  4. Deuteronomy 24:1 Literally “shameful/repulsive thing”
  5. Deuteronomy 24:2 Literally “for a man other”
  6. Deuteronomy 24:3 Literally “to for him”
  7. Deuteronomy 24:4 Literally “to return to take her”
  8. Deuteronomy 24:4 Literally “become unclean”
  9. Deuteronomy 24:4 Literally “to the face of”
  10. Deuteronomy 24:5 Or “If”
  11. Deuteronomy 24:5 Literally “he shall not come across come over upon him to anything”
  12. Deuteronomy 24:5 Literally “for his house”
  13. Deuteronomy 24:6 Hebrew “he”
  14. Deuteronomy 24:6 Or “require”
  15. Deuteronomy 24:6 Literally “for a life he is taking as a pledge”
  16. Deuteronomy 24:7 Literally “found”
  17. Deuteronomy 24:7 Or “brothers”
  18. Deuteronomy 24:7 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  19. Deuteronomy 24:7 Literally “from your midst”
  20. Deuteronomy 24:8 Or “Be careful”
  21. Deuteronomy 24:8 Literally “against”
  22. Deuteronomy 24:8 Or “doing”
  23. Deuteronomy 24:8 Literally “so you shall observe to do”
  24. Deuteronomy 24:9 Literally “in you to go out from Egypt”
  25. Deuteronomy 24:10 Literally “to pledge with respect to his pledge”
  26. Deuteronomy 24:12 “His pledge” refers to “a garment given as pledge”
  27. Deuteronomy 24:13 Literally “as/at the moment of the going out of the sun”
  28. Deuteronomy 24:13 Literally “to you”
  29. Deuteronomy 24:13 Literally “to the face of”
  30. Deuteronomy 24:14 Hebrew “alien”
  31. Deuteronomy 24:14 Literally “gates”
  32. Deuteronomy 24:15 Literally “over him”
  33. Deuteronomy 24:15 Literally “and to him it is a lifting up with respect to his life/soul”
  34. Deuteronomy 24:15 Literally “and it becomes against you as sin
  35. Deuteronomy 24:19 Or “If”
  36. Deuteronomy 24:20 That is, what is left
  37. Deuteronomy 24:21 Literally “behind/after you”
  38. Deuteronomy 24:21 That is, what is left