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24 “When a man hath taken a wife and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes because he hath found some uncleanness in her, then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

And when she has departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.

And if the latter husband hate her and write her a bill of divorcement, and putteth it in her hand and sendeth her out of his house, or if the latter husband die who took her to be his wife,

her former husband who sent her away may not take her again to be his wife after she is defiled; for that is abomination before the Lord, and thou shalt not cause the land to sin which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

“When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business; but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife whom he hath taken.

“No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone in pledge, for then he taketh a man’s life in pledge.

“If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him or selleth him, then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.

“Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you; as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.

Remember what the Lord thy God did unto Miriam on the way after ye had come forth out of Egypt.

10 “When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.

11 Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.

12 And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge.

13 In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment and bless thee; and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God.

14 “Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren or of thy strangers who are in thy land within thy gates.

15 At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor and setteth his heart upon it, lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee.

16 “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

17 “Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless, nor take a widow’s raiment in pledge;

18 but thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence. Therefore I command thee to do this thing.

19 “When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field and hast forgotten a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.

20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

21 When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.

22 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command thee to do this thing.

25 “If there be a controversy between men and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them, then they shall justify the righteous and condemn the wicked.

And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number.

Forty stripes he may give him, and no more, lest, if he should exceed and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.

“Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.

“If brethren dwell together, and one of them die and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside unto a stranger; her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him for a wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her.

And it shall be that the firstborn whom she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.

And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’

Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak unto him; and if he stand by it and say, ‘I like not to take her,’

then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.’

10 And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.’

11 “When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand and taketh him by the secret parts,

12 then thou shalt cut off her hand; thine eye shall not pity her.

13 “Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.

14 Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures, a great and a small.

15 But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have, that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

16 For all who do such things and all who do unrighteously are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.

17 “Remember what Amalek did unto thee on the way, when ye had come forth out of Egypt,

18 how he met thee on the way and smote the hindmost of thee, even all who were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.

19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.

26 “And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it and dwellest therein,

that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring from thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name there.

And thou shalt go unto the priest who shall be in those days, and say unto him, ‘I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I have come unto the country which the Lord swore unto our fathers to give us.’

And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.

“And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God: ‘A Syrian ready to perish was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.

And the Egyptians evilly treated us and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage.

And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression.

And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great fearsomeness, and with signs and with wonders;

and He hath brought us into this place and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.

10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which Thou, O Lord, hast given me.’ And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God;

11 and thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger who is among you.

12 “When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled,

13 then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God: ‘I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Thy commandments which Thou hast commanded me. I have not transgressed Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away aught thereof for any unclean use, nor given aught thereof for the dead; but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God and have done according to all that Thou hast commanded me.

15 Look down from Thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Thy people Israel and the land which Thou hast given us as Thou swore unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.’

16 “This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments; thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart and with all thy soul.

17 Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in His ways, and to keep His statutes and His commandments and His judgments, and to hearken unto His voice.

18 And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all His commandments,

19 and to make thee high above all nations which He hath made in praise and in name and in honor, and that thou mayest be a holy people unto the Lord thy God, as He hath spoken.”

27 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster.

And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee.

Therefore it shall be when ye have gone over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, on Mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.

And there shalt thou build an altar unto the Lord thy God, an altar of stones. Thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them.

Thou shalt build the altar of the Lord thy God of whole stones, and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord thy God.

And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the Lord thy God.

And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”

And Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke unto all Israel, saying, “Take heed and hearken, O Israel: This day thou art become the people of the Lord thy God.

10 Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and do His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day.”

11 And Moses charged the people the same day, saying,

12 “These shall stand upon Mount Gerizim to bless the people when ye have come over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin.

13 And these shall stand upon Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14 And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice:

15 “‘Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

16 “‘Cursed be he that treateth lightly his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

17 “‘Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor’s landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

18 “‘Cursed be he that maketh the blind to wander out of the way.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

19 “‘Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

20 “‘Cursed be he that lieth with his father’s wife, because he uncovereth his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ’Amen.’

21 “‘Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

22 “‘Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

23 “‘Cursed be he that lieth with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

24 “‘Cursed be he that smiteth his neighbor secretly.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

25 “‘Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

26 “‘Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

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, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 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, 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.

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)

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)

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)

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) 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) 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, 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)

Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.(AK)

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) 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)

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) 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,” 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, 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) 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.” The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 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. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer,(BH) subjecting us to harsh labor.(BI) 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) 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) 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. 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) 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. 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. Build there an altar(CM) to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool(CN) on them. Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. Sacrifice fellowship offerings(CO) there, eating them and rejoicing(CP) in the presence of the Lord your God.(CQ) 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

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

  1. Deuteronomy 24:8 The Hebrew word for defiling skin diseases, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin.