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Deuteronomy 24-27
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Deuteronomy 24-27
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Marriage and Divorce Laws
24 “If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something improper 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[a] 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 millstones or an 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 in a case of infectious 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 You must stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you. 12 If he is a poor man, you must not sleep in the garment he has given as security. 13 Be sure to return it[b] 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 hand who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one of the foreigners residing within a town[c] 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 or children for their fathers; each person will be put to death for his own sin.(G) 17 Do not deny justice to a foreigner 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 foreigner, 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, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean what is left. What remains will be for the foreigner, 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)
Fairness and Mercy
25 “If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court, and the judges will hear their case. They will clear the innocent and condemn the guilty. 2 If the guilty party deserves to be flogged, the judge will make him lie down and be flogged in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate for his crime. 3 He may be flogged with 40 lashes, but no more. Otherwise, if he is flogged with more lashes than these, your brother will be degraded in your sight.
4 “Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain.(L)
Preserving the Family Line
5 “When brothers live on the same property[d] and one of them dies without a son, the wife of the dead man may not marry a stranger outside the family. Her brother-in-law is to take her as his wife, have sexual relations with her, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law for her. 6 The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so his name will not be blotted out from Israel.(M) 7 But if the man doesn’t want to marry his sister-in-law, she must go to the elders at the city gate(N) and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel. He isn’t willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.’ 8 The elders of his city will summon him and speak with him. If he persists and says, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ 9 then his sister-in-law will go up to him in the sight of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she will declare, ‘This is what is done to a man who will not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And his family name in Israel will be called ‘The house of the man whose sandal was removed.’(O)
11 “If two men are fighting with each other, and the wife of one steps in to rescue her husband from the one striking him, and she puts out her hand and grabs his genitals, 12 you are to cut off her hand. You must not show pity.
Honest Weights and Measures
13 “You must not have two different weights[e] in your bag, one heavy and one light.(P) 14 You must not have two differing dry measures in your house, a larger and a smaller. 15 You must have a full and honest weight, a full and honest dry measure, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For everyone who does such things and acts unfairly is detestable to the Lord your God.(Q)
Revenge on the Amalekites
17 “Remember what the Amalekites did to you on the journey after you left Egypt.(R) 18 They met you along the way and attacked all your stragglers from behind when you were tired and weary. They did not fear God. 19 When the Lord your God gives you rest(S) from all the enemies around you in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance,(T) blot out the memory of Amalek under heaven. Do not forget.(U)
Giving the Firstfruits
26 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance,(V) and you take possession of it and live in it, 2 you must take some of the first of all the land’s produce that you harvest from the land Yahweh your God is giving you and put it in a container. Then go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to have His name dwell.(W) 3 When you come before the priest who is serving at that time, you must say to him, ‘Today I acknowledge to the Lord your[f] God that I have entered the land the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 “Then the priest will take the container from your hand and place it before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 You are to respond by saying in the presence of the Lord your God:
My father was a wandering Aramean.(X) He went down to Egypt with a few people and lived there.(Y) There he became a great, powerful, and populous nation. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated and afflicted us, and forced us to do hard labor. 7 So we called out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and oppression.(Z) 8 Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with terrifying power, and with signs and wonders. 9 He led us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.(AA) 10 I have now brought the first of the land’s produce that You, Lord, have given me.
You will then place the container before the Lord your God and bow down to Him. 11 You, the Levite, and the foreign resident among you will rejoice(AB) in all the good things the Lord your God has given you and your household.
The Tenth in the Third Year
12 “When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year,(AC) the year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 Then you will say in the presence of the Lord your God:
I have taken the consecrated portion out of my house; I have also given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commands You gave me. I have not violated or forgotten Your commands. 14 I have not eaten any of it while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead.(AD) I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done all You commanded me. 15 Look down from Your holy dwelling, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Covenant Summary
16 “The Lord your God is commanding you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. You must be careful to follow them with all your heart and all your soul. 17 Today you have affirmed that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes, commands, and ordinances, and obey Him. 18 And today the Lord has affirmed that you are His special people as He promised you, that you are to keep all His commands, 19 that He will elevate you to praise, fame, and glory above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people(AE) to the Lord your God as He promised.”
The Law Written on Stones
27 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, “Keep every command I am giving you today. 2 At the time you cross the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must set up large stones and cover them with plaster.(AF) 3 Write all the words of this law on the stones after you cross to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey,(AG) as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 When you have crossed the Jordan, you are to set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I am commanding you today, and you are to cover them with plaster. 5 Build an altar of stones there to the Lord your God—you must not use any iron tool on them.(AH) 6 Use uncut stones to build the altar of the Lord your God and offer burnt offerings to the Lord your God on it. 7 There you are to sacrifice fellowship offerings, eat, and rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God. 8 Write clearly all the words of this law on the plastered stones.”
The Covenant Curses
9 Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 Obey the Lord your God and follow His commands and statutes I am giving you today.”
11 On that day Moses commanded the people, 12 “When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these tribes will stand on Mount Ebal to deliver the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.(AI) 14 The Levites will proclaim in a loud voice to every Israelite:
15 ‘The person who makes a carved idol or cast image, which is detestable to the Lord, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret is cursed.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen!’
16 ‘The one who dishonors his father or mother is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
17 ‘The one who moves his neighbor’s boundary marker is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
18 ‘The one who leads a blind person astray on the road is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
19 ‘The one who denies justice to a foreigner, a fatherless child, or a widow is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
20 ‘The one who sleeps with his father’s wife is cursed, for he has violated his father’s marriage bed.’[g]
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
21 ‘The one who has sexual intercourse with any animal is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
22 ‘The one who sleeps with his sister, whether his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
23 ‘The one who sleeps with his mother-in-law is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
24 ‘The one who secretly kills his neighbor is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
25 ‘The one who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
26 ‘Anyone who does not put the words of this law into practice is cursed.’
And all the people will say, ‘Amen!’
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 24:3 Lit if the second man who has taken her as his wife
- Deuteronomy 24:13 Lit return what he has given as security
- Deuteronomy 24:14 Lit within the gates
- Deuteronomy 25:5 Lit live together
- Deuteronomy 25:13 Lit have a stone and a stone
- Deuteronomy 26:3 LXX reads my
- Deuteronomy 27:20 Lit has uncovered the edge of his father’s garment; Ru 3:9; Ezk 16:8
Deuteronomy 24-27
New International Version
Deuteronomy 24-27
New International Version
24 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him(A) because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce,(B) gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord(C) your God is giving you as an inheritance.
5 If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.(D)
6 Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a person’s livelihood as security.(E)
7 If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die.(F) You must purge the evil from among you.(G)
8 In cases of defiling skin diseases,[a] be very careful to do exactly as the Levitical(H) priests instruct you. You must follow carefully what I have commanded them.(I) 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt.(J)
10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge.(K) 11 Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. 12 If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge(L) in your possession. 13 Return their cloak by sunset(M) so that your neighbor may sleep in it.(N) Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.(O)
14 Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.(P) 15 Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor(Q) and are counting on it.(R) Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.(S)
16 Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.(T)
17 Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless(U) of justice,(V) or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt(W) and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.
19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it.(X) Leave it for the foreigner,(Y) the fatherless and the widow,(Z) so that the Lord your God may bless(AA) you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time.(AB) Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.(AC)
25 When people have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges(AD) will decide the case,(AE) acquitting(AF) the innocent and condemning the guilty.(AG) 2 If the guilty person deserves to be beaten,(AH) the judge shall make them lie down and have them flogged in his presence with the number of lashes the crime deserves, 3 but the judge must not impose more than forty lashes.(AI) If the guilty party is flogged more than that, your fellow Israelite will be degraded in your eyes.(AJ)
4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.(AK)
5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.(AL) 6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.(AM)
7 However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife,(AN) she shall go to the elders at the town gate(AO) and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.”(AP) 8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” 9 his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals,(AQ) spit in his face(AR) and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” 10 That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.
11 If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, 12 you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.(AS)
13 Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light.(AT) 14 Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small. 15 You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long(AU) in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.(AV)
17 Remember what the Amalekites(AW) did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. 18 When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.(AX) 19 When the Lord your God gives you rest(AY) from all the enemies(AZ) around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek(BA) from under heaven. Do not forget!
Firstfruits and Tithes
26 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the firstfruits(BB) of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name(BC) 3 and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” 4 The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering(BD) Aramean,(BE) and he went down into Egypt with a few people(BF) and lived there and became a great nation,(BG) powerful and numerous. 6 But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer,(BH) subjecting us to harsh labor.(BI) 7 Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice(BJ) and saw(BK) our misery,(BL) toil and oppression.(BM) 8 So the Lord brought us out of Egypt(BN) with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,(BO) with great terror and with signs and wonders.(BP) 9 He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;(BQ) 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.(BR)” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites(BS) and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice(BT) in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.
12 When you have finished setting aside a tenth(BU) of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe,(BV) you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 Then say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.(BW) 14 I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean,(BX) nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. 15 Look down from heaven,(BY) your holy dwelling place, and bless(BZ) your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Follow the Lord’s Commands
16 The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.(CA) 17 You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him.(CB) 18 And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession(CC) as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. 19 He has declared that he will set you in praise,(CD) fame and honor high above all the nations(CE) he has made and that you will be a people holy(CF) to the Lord your God, as he promised.
The Altar on Mount Ebal
27 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: “Keep all these commands(CG) that I give you today. 2 When you have crossed the Jordan(CH) into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones(CI) and coat them with plaster.(CJ) 3 Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey,(CK) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. 4 And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal,(CL) as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. 5 Build there an altar(CM) to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool(CN) on them. 6 Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. 7 Sacrifice fellowship offerings(CO) there, eating them and rejoicing(CP) in the presence of the Lord your God.(CQ) 8 And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones(CR) you have set up.”(CS)
Curses From Mount Ebal
9 Then Moses and the Levitical(CT) priests said to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the Lord your God.(CU) 10 Obey the Lord your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today.”
11 On the same day Moses commanded the people:
12 When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim(CV) to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar,(CW) Joseph and Benjamin.(CX) 13 And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal(CY) to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.
14 The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:
15 “Cursed is anyone who makes an idol(CZ)—a thing detestable(DA) to the Lord, the work of skilled hands—and sets it up in secret.”
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”(DB)
16 “Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother.”(DC)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
17 “Cursed is anyone who moves their neighbor’s boundary stone.”(DD)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
18 “Cursed is anyone who leads the blind astray on the road.”(DE)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
19 “Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner,(DF) the fatherless or the widow.”(DG)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
20 “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his father’s wife, for he dishonors his father’s bed.”(DH)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
21 “Cursed is anyone who has sexual relations with any animal.”(DI)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
22 “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.”(DJ)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
23 “Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his mother-in-law.”(DK)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
24 “Cursed is anyone who kills(DL) their neighbor secretly.”(DM)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
25 “Cursed is anyone who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.”(DN)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
26 “Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.”(DO)
Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”(DP)
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 24:8 The Hebrew word for defiling skin diseases, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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