Deuteronomy 24
International Standard Version
Various Laws
24 “If a man chooses to enter into marriage with a woman, but she finds herself displeasing to him because he has found something objectionable[a] about her, he must draw up divorce papers, hand them to her, and then send her out of his house. 2 If she goes out from his house, becomes the wife of another man, 3 and this second husband[b] dislikes her, he, also, must draw up divorce papers, hand them to her, and then send her away from his house. Should the second husband die, 4 her first husband who married her and divorced her earlier must not remarry her,[c] because she was defiled, since this is detestable to the Lord. Don’t defile the land that the Lord your God is about to give you as a possession.
5 “When a man is newly married, he must not be sent out to war or have a related duty placed on him. Let him stay home for one year and be happy with his wife whom he has married.
6 “Don’t take a pair of millstones, especially the upper millstone, as collateral for a loan, because this means taking a man’s[d] livelihood.
7 “If a man is found kidnapping his relative, a fellow Israeli, and mistreats or sells him, that kidnapper must die. By doing this, you will remove this evil from among you.
8 “In cases of leprosy, be very careful to observe exactly what the Levitical priests instructed you. Carefully follow what I have commanded them. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way as you were coming out of Egypt.”
Respecting the Poor
10 “When you loan something to your neighbor, don’t enter his house to seize what he offered as collateral. 11 Stay outside and let the man to whom you made the loan bring it[e] out to you. 12 If he is a poor man, don’t go to sleep with his collateral in your possession.[f] 13 Be sure to return his garment[g] to him at sunset so that he may sleep with it, and he will bless you. It will be a righteous deed in the presence of the Lord your God. 14 Don’t take advantage of a hired person who is poor and needy, whether he’s your fellow citizen or a foreigner who lives in your city. 15 Pay his wages that same day before the sun sets, because he is poor and his livelihood[h] depends on it. Otherwise, he may cry out to the Lord against you, and you will incur guilt.”
Practicing Justice
16 “Fathers are not to be put to death on account of their children’s sin; nor are children to die on account of their fathers’ sin. Each person is to be put to death for his own sin.
17 “Don’t deny justice to a foreigner or to an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment as collateral for a loan. 18 Remember to observe this because you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I am commanding you to do this.
19 “When you are reaping in the field, and you overlook a sheaf, don’t return to get it. Let it remain for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless everything you undertake. 20 When you harvest the olives from your trees, don’t go back to the branches a second time. What remains is for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, don’t go back a second time. What remains is for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow. 22 Remember to do this because you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I’m commanding you to do this.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 24:1 Lit. naked; i.e. indecent
- Deuteronomy 24:3 Lit. this other man
- Deuteronomy 24:4 Lit. not take her to live with him as wife
- Deuteronomy 24:6 Lit. taking his
- Deuteronomy 24:11 Lit. the collateral
- Deuteronomy 24:12 The Heb. lacks in your possession
- Deuteronomy 24:13 Lit. collateral
- Deuteronomy 24:15 Lit. life
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
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