< Deuteronomy 24 >
1 When a man takes a wife and marries her, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some unsuitable thing in her, then he must write her a certificate of divorce, put it into her hand, and send her out of his house.
“Suppose a man marries a woman and later decides that he does not want her because there is something about her that he doesn’t like. And suppose he writes on paper that he is divorcing her, and he gives the paper to her [SYN] and sends her away from his house.
2 When she has gone out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.
Then suppose that she goes and marries another man,
3 If the second husband hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it into her hand, and sends her out of his house; or if the second husband dies, the man who took her to be his wife—
and that man [later also] decides that he does not like her, and he also writes on paper that he is divorcing her, and he sends her away from his house. Or, suppose that the second husband dies.
4 then her former husband, the one who had first sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has become impure; for that would be an abomination to Yahweh. You must not cause the land to become guilty, the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance.
If either of those things happens, her first husband must not marry her again. He must consider that she has become unacceptable to Yahweh. Yahweh would consider it to be disgusting [if he married her again]. You must not sin [MTY] by doing that in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you.”
5 When a man takes a new wife, he will not go to war with the army, neither may he be commanded to go on any forced duty; he will be free to be at home for one year and will cheer his wife whom he has taken.
“When some man has recently become married, he must not [be required to] become a soldier in the army or be required to do any other work [for the government] for one year [after being married]. He should stay happily at home with his wife for that year.
6 No man may take a mill or an upper millstone as a pledge, for that would be taking a person's life as a pledge.
“Anyone who lends money to someone else [is allowed to require that person to give him something] to guarantee [that he will pay back the money that he borrowed. But] he must not take from him his (millstone/stone for grinding grain). That would be taking [the millstone that his family needs to grind the grain to make the bread] they need to stay alive.
7 If a man is found kidnapping any of his brothers from among the people of Israel, and treats him as a slave and sells him, that thief must die; and you will remove the evil from among you.
“If someone kidnaps/steals a fellow Israeli to cause that person to become his slave or to sell him [to become someone else’s slave], you must execute the person who did that. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil among you.
8 Take heed regarding any plague of leprosy, so that you carefully observe and follow every instruction given to you which the priests, the Levites, teach you; as I commanded them, so you will act.
“If you are suffering from (leprosy/a dreaded skin disease), be sure to do everything that the priests, who are from the tribe of Levi, tell you to do. Obey carefully the instructions that I have given to them.
9 Call to mind what Yahweh your God did to Miriam as you were coming out of Egypt.
Do not forget what Yahweh our God did to Miriam, [when she became a leper], after your ancestors left Egypt.
10 When you make your neighbor any kind of loan, you must not go into his house to fetch his pledge.
“When you lend something to someone, do not go into his house to take the cloak that he says that he will give you to guarantee [that he will return what he has borrowed].
11 You will stand outside, and the man to whom you have lent will bring the pledge outside to you.
Stand outside his house, and the man to whom you are lending something will bring the cloak out to you.
12 If he is a poor man, you must not sleep with his pledge in your possession.
But if he is poor, do not keep that cloak all night.
13 You must surely restore to him the pledge by the time the sun goes down, so that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; it will be righteousness for you before Yahweh your God.
When the sun sets, take the cloak back to him, in order that he may wear it while he sleeps. If you do that, he will [ask God to] bless you, and Yahweh our God will be pleased with you.
14 You must not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is of your fellow Israelites, or of the foreigners who are in your land within your city gates;
“Do not mistreat any servants whom you have hired who are poor and needy [DOU], whether they are Israelis or foreigners who are living in your town.
15 Each day you must give him his wage; the sun must not go down on this unsettled matter, for he is poor and is counting on it. Do this so that he does not cry out against you to Yahweh, and so that it not be a sin that you have committed.
Every day, before sunset, you must pay/give them the money that they have earned. They are poor and they need to get their pay. If you do not pay them right away, they will cry out against you to Yahweh, and he will punish [MTY] you for having sinned like that.
16 The parents must not be put to death for their children, neither must the children be put to death for their parents. Instead, everyone must be put to death for his own sin.
“Parents must not be executed for crimes that their children have committed, and children must not be executed for crimes that their parents have committed. People should be executed only for the crimes that they themselves have committed.
17 You must not use force to take away the justice that is due the foreigner or the fatherless, nor take the widow's cloak as a pledge.
“You must [LIT] do for foreigners [who live] among you and for orphans what the laws state must be done for them. And [if you lend something to] a widow, do not take her coat from her as a guarantee [that she will return it].
18 Instead, you must call to mind that you were a slave in Egypt, and that Yahweh your God rescued you from there. Therefore I instruct you to obey this command.
Do not forget that [you had great hardships/troubles when] you were slaves in Egypt, and Yahweh our God rescued you from there. That is why I am commanding you [to help others who have troubles].
19 When you reap your harvest in your field, and if you have forgotten an omer of grain in the field, you must not go back to get it; it must be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, or for the widow, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
“When you harvest your crops, if you have forgotten [that you left] one bundle in the field, do not go back to get it. [Leave it there] for foreigners, orphans, and widows. If you do that, Yahweh will bless you in everything that you do.
20 When you shake your olive tree, you must not go over the branches again; it will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, or for the widow.
And when you have harvested/picked all your olives from the trees once, do not go back [to pick the ones that are still] on the trees.
21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean it again. What is left over will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
[Similarly], when you pick the grapes in your vineyard, do not go back a second time [to try to find more]. Leave them for the foreigners, orphans, and widows [among you].
22 You must call to mind that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I instruct you to obey this command.
Do not forget that [Yahweh was kind to you when] you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I am commanding you [to be kind to those who are needy].”