Deuteronomy 24

Modern

Literal

Marriage and Divorce Laws

¹If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce,^a hand it to her, and send her away from his house.

¹When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it comes to pass that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found in her some uncleanness, and he writes to her a certificate of divorce and puts it into her hand and sends her out of his house,

²If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife,

²and she has departed from his house and goes and becomes to another man,

³and the second man hates her, writes her a certificate of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house, or if he dies,

³and the latter husband detests 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 husband dies who took her as his wife,

⁴then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

⁴then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be wife to him after that she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the face of YHWH, and you shall not bring sin upon the land that YHWH your God is giving to you as an inheritance.

⁵If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the wife he has married.

⁵When a man has taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war or be charged with anything. He shall be free at home one year, and bring joy to his wife whom he has taken.

Additional Laws

⁶Do not take a pair of millstones or even an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that would be taking one’s livelihood as security.

⁶No one shall take in pledge the lower or the upper millstone, for it is a life for a pledge.

⁷If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.^a

⁷If a man is found kidnapping any of his brothers of the sons of Israel, and he mistreats him or sells him, that thief shall die. And you shall put away the evil from among you.

⁸In cases of infectious skin diseases,^a be careful to diligently follow everything the Levitical priests instruct you. Be careful to do as I have commanded them.

⁸Take heed in an outbreak of leprosy that you observe carefully and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you. As I commanded them, you shall be careful to do.

⁹Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the journey after you came out of Egypt.

⁹Remember what YHWH your God did to Miriam on the way, when you came out of Egypt.

¹⁰When you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect security.

¹⁰When you lend your brother a loan of anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge.

¹¹You are to stand outside while the man to whom you are lending brings the security out to you.

¹¹You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend it shall bring out to you the pledge outside.

¹²If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession;

¹²And if the man is poor, you shall not lie asleep with his pledge.

¹³be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before the LORD your God.

¹³You shall surely return the pledge to him when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you, and to you it shall be righteousness before the face of YHWH your God.

¹⁴Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.

¹⁴You shall not oppress a hireling who is poor and needy, one of your brothers or one of the foreigners who is in your land within your gates.

¹⁵You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

¹⁵Each day you shall give him his wage, and let the sun not go down on it—for he is poor, and on it he lifts up his heart—lest he cry out against you to YHWH, and it be sin in you.

¹⁶Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.^a

¹⁶Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, and neither shall sons be put to death for fathers. A man shall be put to death for his own sin.

¹⁷Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security.

¹⁷You shall not pervert justice due the sojourner or the fatherless, nor take as a pledge the garment of a widow.

¹⁸Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

¹⁸And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and YHWH your God redeemed you from there. Upon thus I command you to do this thing.

¹⁹If you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, 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.

¹⁹When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. To the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow it shall be, that YHWH your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

²⁰When you beat the olives from your trees, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.

²⁰When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over the boughs again. To the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow it shall be.

²¹When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not go over the vines again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.

²¹When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean after yourself; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow it shall be.

²²Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

²²And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Upon thus I command you to do this thing.