Deuteronomy 24

1 If a man takes a wife, and after they are married she is unpleasing to him because of some bad quality in her, let him give her a statement in writing and send her away from his house.

Should a man marry a woman, but then isn't pleased with her because he finds out something shameful about her, he is allowed to write out a certificate of divorce for her, give it to her, and send her out of his house.

2 And when she has gone away from him, she may become another man's wife.

Suppose that after leaving his house, she goes marries another man,

3 And if the second husband has no love for her and, giving her a statement in writing, sends her away; or if death comes to the second husband to whom she was married;

and suppose the second man also ends up hating her, writes out a certificate of divorce for her, gives it to her, and sends her out of his house—or he may happen to die.

4 Her first husband, who had sent her away, may not take her back after she has been wife to another; for that is disgusting to the Lord: and you are not to be a cause of sin in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage.

The first husband who divorced her is not permitted to marry her again after she was shamed, for that offends the Lord. You are not bring guilt upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you to own.

5 A newly married man will not have to go out with the army or undertake any business, but may be free for one year, living in his house for the comfort of his wife.

If a man has just got married, he is not to be sent to war or made to do any other duties. He is free to stay at home for one year and make his wife happy.

6 No one is to take, on account of a debt, the stones with which grain is crushed: for in doing so he takes a man's living.

Don't accept a pair of millstones, or even just an upper millstone, as security for a debt, because that would put the borrower's life in danger.

7 If a man takes by force one of his countrymen, the children of Israel, using him as his property or getting a price for him, that thief is to be put to death: so you are to put away evil from among you.

Anyone caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite must be executed, whether the kidnapper makes him a slave or sells him. You must eliminate the evil from among you.

8 In connection with the leper's disease, take care to keep and do every detail of the teaching of the priests, the Levites: as I gave them orders, so you are to do.

When it comes to infectious skin diseases, make sure you follow carefully all the instructions of the Levitical priests. Be careful to follow the orders I've given them.

9 Keep in mind what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way, when you came out of Egypt.

Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the journey out of Egypt.

10 If you let your brother have the use of anything which is yours, do not go into his house and take anything of his as a sign of his debt;

If you lend anything to someone, don't go into their house to take some kind of security.

11 But keep outside till he comes out and gives it to you.

Stand outside while they go inside and bring the security out to you.

12 If he is a poor man, do not keep his property all night;

If he is a poor man he may give his cloak as security, but you must not keep it when you go to sleep.

13 But be certain to give it back to him when the sun goes down, so that he may have his clothing for sleeping in, and will give you his blessing: and this will be put to your account as righteousness before the Lord your God.

Make sure you give it back by sunset, so that he can sleep in his own cloak and thank you, and you will be counted as doing good by the Lord your God.

14 Do not be hard on a servant who is poor and in need, if he is one of your countrymen or a man from another nation living with you in your land.

Don't mistreat a paid servant who is poor and needy, whether he's an Israelite or a foreigner living in one of your towns.

15 Give him his payment day by day, not keeping it back over night; for he is poor and his living is dependent on it; and if his cry against you comes to the ears of the Lord, it will be judged as sin in you.

Pay his wages every day before sunset, because he is poor and is relying on them. If you don't he may complain to the Lord about you, and you will be found guilty of sin.

16 Fathers are not to be put to death for their children or children for their fathers: every man is to be put to death for the sin which he himself has done.

Fathers are not to be executed because of their children, and children are not to be executed because of their fathers. Each person is to be executed because of their own sin.

17 Be upright in judging the cause of the man from a strange country and of him who has no father; do not take a widow's clothing on account of a debt:

Don't treat foreigners or orphans unjustly; don't take a widow's cloak as security.

18 But keep in mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God made you free: for this is why I give you orders to do this.

Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God rescued you from that place. That's why I'm ordering you to do this.

19 When you get in the grain from your field, if some of the grain has been dropped by chance in the field, do not go back and get it, but let it be for the man from a strange land, the child without a father, and the widow: so that the blessing of the Lord your God may be on all the work of your hands.

If when you're harvesting in your field you forget a sheaf there, don't go back for it. Leave it for the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do.

20 When you are shaking the fruit from your olive-trees, do not go over the branches a second time: let some be for the man from a strange land, the child without a father, and the widow.

When you shake the olive trees to knock down the olives, don't go over the branches again. What's left is for the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows.

21 When you are pulling the grapes from your vines, do not take up those which have been dropped; let them be for the man from a strange land, the child without a father, and the widow.

When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, don't go over the vines again. What's left is for the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows.

22 Keep in mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt: for this is why I give you orders to do this.

Remember you were once slaves in Egypt. That's why I'm ordering you to do this.