Deuteronomy 24

1When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.footnote afootnote b

2And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.

3And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;

4Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

5When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.footnote c

6No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.

7If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.

8Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.

9Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.

10When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.footnote d

11Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.

12And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:

13In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.

14Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:

15At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.footnote e

16The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

17Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow’s raiment to pledge:

18But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

19When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.

20When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.footnote f

21When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.footnote g

22And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.

Marriage and Divorce Laws

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

2If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3and 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, 4then 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.

5If 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.

Additional Laws

6Do 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.

7If 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.footnote b

8In cases of infectious skin diseases,footnote c be careful to diligently follow everything the Levitical priests instruct you. Be careful to do as I have commanded them. 9Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the journey after you came out of Egypt.

10When you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect security. 11You are to stand outside while the man to whom you are lending brings the security out to you. 12If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession; 13be 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.

14Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns. 15You 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.

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

17Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security. 18Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

19If 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.

20When 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.

21When 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. 22Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.