Deuteronomy 24

1 'When a man doth take a wife, and hath married her, and it hath been, if she doth not find grace in his eyes (for he hath found in her nakedness of anything), and he hath written for her a writing of divorce, and given [it] into her hand, and sent 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 and she hath gone out of his house, and hath gone and been another man's,

Then suppose that she goes and marries another man,

3 and the latter man hath hated her, and written for her a writing of divorce, and given [it] into her hand, and sent her out of his house, or when the latter man dieth, who hath taken her to himself for a 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 'Her former husband who sent her away is not able to turn back to take her to be to him for a wife, after that she hath become defiled; for an abomination it [is] before Jehovah, and thou dost not cause the land to sin which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee — 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 taketh a new wife, he doth not go out into the host, and [one] doth not pass over unto him for anything; free he is at his own house one year, and hath rejoiced his wife whom he hath 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 'None doth take in pledge millstones, and rider, for life it [is] he is taking in 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 'When a man is found stealing a person, of his brethren, of the sons of Israel, and hath tyrannized over him, and sold him, then hath that thief died, and thou hast put away the evil thing out of thy midst.

“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, in the plague of leprosy, to watch greatly, and to do according to all that the priests, the Levites, teach you; as I have commanded them ye observe to do;

“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 remember that which Jehovah thy God hath done to Miriam in the way, in your 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 thou liftest up on thy brother a debt of anything, thou dost not go in unto his house to obtain 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 at the outside thou dost stand, and the man on whom thou art lifting [it] up is bringing out unto thee the pledge at the outside.

Stand outside his house, and the man to whom you are lending something will bring the cloak out to you.

12 'And if he is a poor man, thou dost not lie down with his pledge;

But if he is poor, do not keep that cloak all night.

13 thou dost certainly give back to him the pledge at the going in of the sun, and he hath lain down in his own raiment, and hath blessed thee; and to thee it is righteousness before Jehovah thy 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 'Thou dost not oppress a hireling, poor and needy, of thy brethren or of thy sojourner who is in thy land within thy 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 in his day thou dost give his hire, and the sun doth not go in upon it, for he [is] poor, and unto it he is lifting up his soul, and he doth not cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee — sin.

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 'Fathers are not put to death for sons, and sons are not put to death for fathers — each for his own sin, they are put to death.

“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 'Thou dost not turn aside the judgment of a fatherless sojourner, nor take in pledge the garment of a widow;

“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 and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in Egypt, and Jehovah thy God doth ransom thee from thence; therefore I am commanding thee to do this thing.

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 thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten a sheaf in a field, thou dost not turn back to take it; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is; so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all the work of thy 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 thou beatest thine olive, thou dost not examine the branch behind thee; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is.

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 thou cuttest thy vineyard, thou dost not glean behind thee; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is;

[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 and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding thee to do this thing.

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].”