Deuteronomy 24:1-5
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)
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Deuteronomy 24:1-5
New English Translation
24 If a man marries a woman and she does not please him because he has found something indecent[a] in her, then he may draw up a divorce document, give it to her, and evict her from his house. 2 When she has left him[b] she may go and become someone else’s wife. 3 If the second husband rejects[c] her and then divorces her,[d] gives her the papers, and evicts her from his house, or if the second husband who married her dies, 4 her first husband who divorced her is not permitted to remarry[e] her after she has become ritually impure, for that is offensive to the Lord.[f] You must not bring guilt on the land[g] that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
5 When a man is newly married, he need not go into[h] the army nor be obligated in any way; he must be free to stay at home for a full year and bring joy to[i] the wife he has married.
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- Deuteronomy 24:1 tn The Hebrew phrase עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (ʿervat davar) involves a genitive of specification, something characterized by עֶרְוָה (ʿervah). עֶרְוָה means “nakedness,” and by extension means “shame, sexual impropriety, sexual organs, indecency” (NIDOTTE III 528, Jastrow 1114-15).
- Deuteronomy 24:2 tn Heb “his house.”
- Deuteronomy 24:3 tn Heb “hates.” See note on the word “other” in Deut 21:15.
- Deuteronomy 24:3 tn Heb “writes her a document of divorce.”
- Deuteronomy 24:4 tn Heb “to return to take her to be his wife.”
- Deuteronomy 24:4 sn The issue here is not divorce and its grounds per se but prohibition of remarriage to a mate whom one has previously divorced.
- Deuteronomy 24:4 tn Heb “cause the land to sin” (so KJV, ASV).
- Deuteronomy 24:5 tn Heb “go out with.”
- Deuteronomy 24:5 tc For the MT’s reading Piel שִׂמַּח (simmakh, “bring joy to”), the Syriac and others read שָׂמַח (samakh, “enjoy”).
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