Deuteronomy 24

1 If 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, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.

If a man take a wife, and have her, and she find not favour in his eyes, for some uncleanness: he shall write a bill of divorce, and shall give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

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

And when she is departed, and marrieth another husband,

3 and 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,

And he also hateth her, and hath given her a bill of divorce, and hath sent her out of his house or is dead:

4 then 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.

The former husband cannot take her again to wife: because she is defiled, and is become abominable before the Lord: lest thou cause thy land to sin, which the Lord thy God shall give thee to possess.

5 If 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.

When a man hath lately taken a wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall any public business be enjoined him, but he shall be free at home without fault, that for one year he may rejoice with his wife.

6 Do 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.

Thou shalt not take the nether, nor the upper millstone to pledge: for he hath pledged his life to thee.

7 If 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.

If any man be found soliciting his brother of the children of Israel, and selling him shall take a price, he shall be put to death, and thou shalt take away the evil from the midst of thee.

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

Observe diligently that thou incur not the stroke of the leprosy, but thou shalt do whatsoever the priests of the Levitical race shall teach thee, according to what I have commanded them, and fulfill thou it carefully.

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

Remember what the Lord your God did to Mary, in the way when you came out of Egypt.

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

When thou shalt demand of thy neighbour any thing that he oweth thee, thou shalt not go into his house to take away a pledge:

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

But then shalt stand without, and he shall bring out to thee what he hath.

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

But if he be poor, the pledge shall not lodge with thee that night,

13 be 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.

But thou shalt restore it to him presently before the going down of the sun: that he may sleep in his own raiment and bless thee, and thou mayst have justice before the Lord thy God.

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

Thou shalt not refuse the hire of the needy, and the poor, whether he be thy brother, or a stranger that dwelleth with thee in the land, and is within thy gates:

15 You 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.

But thou shalt pay him the price of his labour the same day, before the going down of the sun, because he is poor, and with it maintaineth his life: lest he cry against thee to the Lord, and it be reputed to thee for a sin.

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

The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers, but every one shall die for his own sin.

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

Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger nor of the fatherless, neither shalt thou take away the widow’s raiment for a pledge.

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

Remember that thou wast a slave in Egypt, and the Lord thy God delivered thee from thence. Therefore I command thee to do this thing.

19 If 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.

When thou hast reaped the corn in thy field, and hast forgot and left a sheaf, thou shalt not return to take it away: but thou shalt suffer the stranger, and the fatherless and the widow to tabs it away: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the works of thy hands.

20 When 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.

If thou have gathered the fruit of thy olive trees, thou shalt not return to gather whatsoever remaineth on the trees: but shalt leave it for the stranger, for the fatherless, and the widow.

21 When 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.

If thou make the vintage of thy vineyard, thou shalt not gather the clusters that remain, but they shall be for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.

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

Remember that thou also wast a bondman in Egypt, and therefore I command thee to do this thing.