Deuteronomy
Chapter 24
1 When a man gets married and then doesn’t like his wife because he sees something wrong with her, he should write her a divorce paper, give it to her, and make her leave his house.
2 When she leaves his house, she can go and become another man’s wife.
3 If her second husband dislikes her, writes her a divorce paper, gives it to her, and sends her out of his house, or if the second husband dies, who married her.
4 Her first husband, who divorced her, cannot marry her again after she has been with someone else. This is wrong in God’s eyes. Do not make the land God has given you as your own do wrong things.
5 When a man marries a new wife, he should not have to fight in war or be given any tasks. Instead, he should spend a year at home and make his wife happy.
6 No one should take the lower or upper millstone as a guarantee; it is like taking a person’s livelihood as security.
7 If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite, intending to enslave or sell them, that kidnapper must be put to death to rid your community of this evil.
8 Be careful with leprosy and follow closely all that the priest Levites tell you to do. Do it just as they were instructed.
9 Remember what God did to Miriam when you left Egypt.
10 When you lend something to your brother, do not enter his house to take his collateral.
11 You will wait outside, and the man you lend to will bring the item he’s using for collateral outside to you.
12 If the man is poor, do not keep his collateral overnight.
13 You must give back what you took as security from him by sunset so he can sleep in his own clothes and then he will thank you. This will be a good thing for you in the eyes of God.
14 Do not mistreat a poor and needy worker, whether they are from your own people or from the foreigners in your land.
15 On the day he does the work, you must pay him, and not let the sun set before you do, because he is poor and needs the money. Otherwise, he might call out to God against you, and you would be guilty of sin.
16 Parents should not be killed for their children’s actions, nor should children be killed for their parents’ actions; a person should be killed only for their own wrongdoing.
17 Do not twist justice for foreigners or orphans, and do not take a widow’s clothing as collateral.
18 Remember you were a slave in Egypt and God saved you from there: that’s why I tell you to do this.
19 When you harvest your crops and forget a bundle in the field, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, so God may bless you in all you do.
20 When you beat your olive tree, don’t strip the branches: leave what’s left for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.
21 When you pick grapes from your vineyard, don’t go back over it: leave what’s left for outsiders, orphans, and widows.
22 Remember you were a slave in Egypt, so I am commanding you to do this.