Deuteronomy 24
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Laws concerning Marriage and Divorce
24 “Suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable about her, so he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; 2 she then leaves his house and goes off to become another man’s wife.(A) 3 Then suppose the second man dislikes her, writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house (or the second man who married her dies): 4 her first husband, who sent her away, is not permitted to take her again to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that would be abhorrent to the Lord, and you shall not bring guilt on the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession.(B)
Miscellaneous Laws
5 “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be charged with any related duty. He shall be free at home one year, to be happy with the wife whom he has married.(C)
6 “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.
7 “If someone is caught kidnaping another Israelite, enslaving or selling the Israelite, then that kidnaper shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.(D)
8 “Guard against an outbreak of a defiling skin disease by being very careful; you shall carefully observe whatever the Levitical priests instruct you, just as I have commanded them.(E) 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your journey out of Egypt.(F)
10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any kind, you shall not go into the house to take the pledge. 11 You shall wait outside while the person to whom you are making the loan brings the pledge out to you. 12 If the person is poor, you shall not sleep in the garment given you as[a] the pledge. 13 You shall give the pledge back by sunset, so that your neighbor may sleep in the cloak and bless you, and it will be to your credit before the Lord your God.(G)
14 “You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns.(H) 15 You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.(I)
16 “Parents shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their parents; only for their own crimes may persons be put to death.(J)
17 “You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge.(K) 18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.(L)
19 “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 left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings.(M) 20 When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.(N)
21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. 22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this.(O)
Footnotes
- 24.12 Heb lacks the garment given you as
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
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
