Deuteronomy 24

1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass, that if she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some scandalous thing in her, he may write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her away out of 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 she shall depart out of his house; and if she go and become another man's wife;

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

3 And the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her away out of his house; or if the latter husband, who took her as his wife, should die:

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 Then shall her former husband, who had sent her away, not be at liberty to take her again to be his wife, after she hath been defiled; for it is abomination before the Lord; and thou shalt not bring sin upon the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

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 When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any public business: he shall be free for his house one year, and shall cheer up his wife whom he hath taken.

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 man shall take to pledge the nether or the upper millstone; for he taketh a man's life to pledge.

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 be found stealing any one of his brethren of the children of Israel, and he treateth him as a slave, and selleth him: then shall that thief die; and thou shalt put the evil away from the midst of thee.

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 Take heed of the plague of leprosy, to observe diligently, and to do according to all that the priests, the Levites, may instruct you; as I have commanded them, so shall ye observe 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 Remember what the Lord thy God did unto Miriam on the journey, at your coming forth out of Egypt.

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

10 When thou dost lend thy brother any thing as a loan, thou shalt not go into his house to take his pledge.

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

11 In the street shalt thou stand, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out unto thee the pledge into the street.

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

12 And if he be a poor man, thou shalt not lie down with his pledge:

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 Thou shalt punctually deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may lie under his own cover, and bless thee; and unto thee shall it be as righteousness before the Lord thy 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 Thou shalt not withhold the wages of a hired man, of the poor and needy, [whether he be] of thy brethren, or of the strangers that are in thy land within thy gates.

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 On the same day shalt thou give him his wages, that the sun may not go down upon it; for he is poor, and his soul longeth for it; so that he may not cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin in thee.

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 shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall children be put to death for the fathers: for his own sin shall every man be put to death.

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 Thou shalt not pervert the cause of the stranger, or of the fatherless; and thou shalt not take in pledge the raiment of a widow;

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

18 But thou shalt remember that thou waste a bond-man in Egypt, and that the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence; therefore do I command thee to do this thing.

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 thou cuttest down thy harvest in thy field, and forgettest a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go back to fetch it; for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow shall it be; in order that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy 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 thou beatest thy olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow shall it be.

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 thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean the small fruit afterward; for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow shall it be.

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 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bond-man in the land of Egypt; therefore do I command thee to do this thing:

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