Beginning

24 A man might marry a woman. But he might decide she doesn’t please him. He has found something bad about her. He writes out divorce papers for her. He gives them to her and sends her away from his house. ² After she leaves his house, she goes and marries another man. ³ But her second husband does not like her either. So he writes out divorce papers for her. He gives them to her and sends her away from his house. Or the second husband might die. ⁴ In either case, her first husband who divorced her must not marry her again. She has become unclean. The Lord would hate this. Don’t bring this sin into the land the Lord your God is giving you to own.

⁵ A man who has just married must not be sent to war. And he must not be given any other duty. He should be free to stay home for a year to make his new wife happy.

⁶ A man might owe you something. But do not take his two stones for grinding grain—not even the upper one—in place of what he owes. This is how he makes his living.

⁷ A man might kidnap a fellow Israelite. He might make him a slave or sell him. The kidnapper must be killed. You must get rid of the evil among you.

⁸ Be careful when someone has a harmful skin disease. Do exactly what the priests, the Levites, teach you. Be careful to do what I have commanded them. ⁹ Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your way out of Egypt.

¹⁰ You might make a loan to your neighbor. But don’t go into his house to get something in place of it. ¹¹ Stay outside. Let the man himself go in and get what he promised you. ¹² A poor man might give you his coat to show he will pay the loan back. But don’t keep his coat overnight. ¹³ Give his coat back to him at sunset. He needs his coat to sleep in. He will thank you. And the Lord your God will see that you have done a good thing.

¹⁴ Don’t cheat a hired servant who is poor and needy. He might be a fellow Israelite. Or he might be a foreigner living in one of your towns. ¹⁵ Pay him each day before sunset. He is poor and needs the money. Otherwise, he may complain to the Lord about you. And you will be guilty of sin.

¹⁶ Fathers must not be put to death when their children do wrong. And children must not be put to death when their fathers do wrong. Each person must die for his own sin.

¹⁷ Do not be unfair to a foreigner or an orphan. Don’t take a widow’s coat in place of a loan. ¹⁸ Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. And the Lord your God saved you from there. That is why I am commanding you to do this.

¹⁹ You might be gathering your harvest in the field. You might not see a bundle of grain. Don’t go back and get it. Leave it there for foreigners, orphans and widows. Then the Lord your God can bless everything you do. ²⁰ You may beat your olive trees to knock the olives off. But don’t beat the trees a second time. Leave what is left for foreigners, orphans and widows. ²¹ You may harvest the grapes in your vineyard. But don’t pick the vines a second time. Leave what is left for foreigners, orphans and widows. ²² Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I am commanding you to do this.

25 Two people may have an argument. They should go to the court. And the judges will decide the case. They will declare one person to be right. And they will punish the one who is guilty. ² The guilty person might have to be punished with a beating. If so, the judge will make him lie down. They will beat him in front of the judge. The number of lashes should match the crime. ³ But don’t hit him more than 40 times. If he is beaten more than that, it would disgrace him before others.

⁴ When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.

⁵ Two brothers might be living together. One of them might die without having a son. His widow must not marry someone outside her husband’s family. Her husband’s brother must marry her. This is his duty for her as a brother-in-law. ⁶ The first son she has must be named for the dead brother. Then his name will not be forgotten in Israel.

⁷ But a man might not want to marry his brother’s widow. Then she should go to the elders at the town gate. And she should say, “My brother-in-law will not carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He refuses to do his duty for me.”

⁸ Then the elders of the town must call for the man and talk to him. But he might be stubborn and say, “I don’t want to marry her.”

⁹ If he does, the woman must go up to him in front of the elders. She must take off one of his sandals. She must spit in his face and say, “This is for the man who won’t continue his brother’s family!” ¹⁰ Then that man’s family shall be known in Israel as the Family of the Unsandaled.

¹¹ Two men might be fighting. And one man’s wife comes to save her husband from his attacker. And she grabs the attacker by his sex organs. ¹² You must cut off her hand. Give her no mercy.

¹³ Don’t carry two sets of weights with you, one heavy and one light. ¹⁴ Don’t have two different sets of measures in your house, one large and one small. ¹⁵ You must have true and honest weights and measures. Then you will live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁶ The Lord your God hates anyone who is dishonest and uses dishonest measures.

¹⁷ Remember what the Amalekites did to you when you came out of Egypt. ¹⁸ You were tired and worn out. And they met you on the road. They killed all those lagging behind. They were not afraid of God. ¹⁹ The Lord your God will give you rest from all the enemies around you. It will be in the land he is giving you to own. Then you shall destroy any memory of the Amalekites on the earth. Do not forget!

The First Harvest

26 Soon you will go into the land the Lord your God is giving you to own. You will take it over and live in it. ² Then you must take some of the first harvest of crops. It will grow from the land the Lord your God is giving you. Put the food in a basket. Then go to the place where the Lord your God will choose to be worshiped. ³ Say to the priest on duty at that time, “Today I declare this before the Lord your God. I have come into the land the Lord promised to give us. He promised this to our ancestors.” ⁴ The priest will take your basket. He will set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ Then you shall announce before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt. He stayed there with only a few people. But they became a great, powerful and large nation there. ⁶ But the Egyptians were cruel to us. They made us suffer and work very hard. ⁷ So we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard us. He saw our trouble, hard work and suffering. ⁸ Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt. He did it with his great power and strength. He used great terrors, signs and miracles. ⁹ Then he brought us to this place. He gave us this land where much food grows. ¹⁰ Now I bring you part of the first harvest from this land. Lord, you have given me this land.” Then place the basket before the Lord your God. And bow down before him. ¹¹ Then you and the Levites and foreigners among you should rejoice. The Lord your God has given good things to you and your family.

¹² Bring a tenth of all your harvest the third year. This is the year to give a tenth of your harvest. Give it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. Then they may eat in your towns and be full. ¹³ Then say to the Lord your God, “I have taken out of my house the part of my harvest that belongs to God. I have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. I have done everything you commanded me. I have not broken your commands. And I have not forgotten any of them. ¹⁴ I have not eaten any of the holy part while I was in sorrow. I have not removed any of it while I was unclean. I have not offered it for dead people. I have obeyed you, the Lord my God. I have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵ So look down from heaven, your holy home. Bless your people Israel. And bless the land you have given us. You promised it to our ancestors. It is a land where much food grows.”

Obey the Lord’s Commands

¹⁶ Today the Lord your God commands you to obey all these rules and laws. Be careful to do them with your whole being. ¹⁷ Today you have said that the Lord is your God. You have promised to do what he wants you to do. You have promised to keep his rules, commands and laws. You have said you will obey him. ¹⁸ And today the Lord has said that you are his very own people. He has promised it. But you must obey his commands. ¹⁹ The Lord will make you greater than all the other nations he made. He will give you praise, fame and honor. And you will be a holy people to the Lord your God. This is what he said.

The Law Written on Stones

27 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people. They said, “Keep all the commands I have given you today. ² Soon you will cross the Jordan River. You will go into the land the Lord your God is giving you. On that day set up some large stones. Cover them with plaster. ³ When you cross over, write all the words of these teachings on them. Then you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. It is a land where much food grows. It is just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised. ⁴ After you have crossed the Jordan River, set up these stones. Set them on Mount Ebal as I command you today. And cover them with plaster. ⁵ Build an altar of stones there to the Lord your God. But don’t use any iron tool to cut the stones. ⁶ Build the altar of the Lord your God with stones from the field. Offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. ⁷ Offer fellowship offerings there. Eat them and rejoice before the Lord your God. ⁸ Then write clearly all the words of these teachings on the stones.”

Curses of the Law

⁹ Then Moses and the Levites, who are the priests, spoke to all Israel. They said, “Be quiet, Israel. Listen! Today you have become the people of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ Obey the Lord your God. Keep his commands and laws that I give you today.”

¹¹ That day Moses also gave the people this command:

¹² You will cross the Jordan River. Then these tribes must stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. ¹³ And these tribes must stand on Mount Ebal to announce the curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.

¹⁴ The Levites will say to all the people of Israel in a loud voice:

¹⁵ “Anyone will be cursed who makes an idol or statue and secretly sets it up. The Lord hates idols made by man.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

¹⁶ “Anyone will be cursed who dishonors his father or his mother.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

¹⁷ “Anyone will be cursed who moves the stone that marks his neighbor’s border.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

¹⁸ “Anyone will be cursed who leads a blind person away from the road.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

¹⁹ “Anyone will be cursed who is unfair to foreigners, orphans or widows.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

²⁰ “A man will be cursed who has physical relations with his father’s wife. It is a dishonor to his father.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

²¹ “Anyone will be cursed who has unnatural physical relations with an animal.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

²² “A man will be cursed who has physical relations with his sister. She may be his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

²³ “A man will be cursed who has physical relations with his mother-in-law.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

²⁴ “Anyone will be cursed who kills his neighbor secretly.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

²⁵ “Anyone will be cursed who takes money to murder an innocent person.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”

²⁶ “Anyone will be cursed who does not agree with the words of these teachings and does not obey them.”

Then all the people will say, “Amen!”