Deu 24 | EE | STEP | Perhaps a man will marry a woman and then discover something bad in her. He does not like her, so he writes a letter. This letter finishes the marriage. He gives it to his wife and he sends her out of his house.

Deuteronomy 24

1 Perhaps a man will marry a woman and then discover something bad in her. He does not like her, so he writes a letter. This letter finishes the marriage. He gives it to his wife and he sends her out of his house. 2 Perhaps, after she has left his house, she marries another man.

3 Perhaps her second husband also discovers that he does not like her. So he also gives her a letter that finishes the marriage. He sends her away, or perhaps he dies. 4 But her first husband must not marry her again. That is because she has been the wife of another man. To marry her again would be a sin. The LORD hates to see a thing like this. You must not do wrong and bad things in the country that the LORD your God is giving to you.

5 When a man has just married, do not send him to fight in a war. Do not give him any special duties. He should stay at home for one year and make his new wife happy.

6 When you lend money to a man, do not take away his large stones. Do not even take the top one. This is because he needs these stones to make flour from his corn. This is his work.

7 Perhaps you will catch a man who is carrying away another Israelite. He uses him for a slave or even sells him. The man who does this must die. You must remove these wrong things from among you.

8 Perhaps you have the illness that is called leprosy. Be very careful! Do everything that the priests say to you. The priests are Levites. You must obey everything that I have commanded them. 9 Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam during your journey. This was after you left Egypt.

10 Your neighbour may ask you to lend him something. And he offers you something that is his, as a pledge. Do not go into his house to get it. 11 You must wait outside. Let him bring the pledge out to you. 12 If the man is poor, you must not keep his pledge until the next day. 13 You must give him his coat again before sunset. He can wear it and he can keep himself warm at night. He will ask God to do good things for you. And you will give pleasure to the LORD your God. It is right to do this. ^{▼▼24:13 A loan can be either money or things, that a man lends to his neighbour.} ^{▼▼24:13 A pledge was a thing (perhaps his coat) that the neighbour offered to the man. This thing was like a promise that he would pay back the loan.}

14 Always be kind to a poor servant who needs many things. Do this whether he is an Israelite or a foreign person in one of your towns. 15 You must pay him his money every day before sunset because he is poor. He needs to have the money. If you do not pay him, he may ask the LORD for help against you. You will have sinned.

16 You must not kill fathers for the sins that their children do. You must not kill children for the sins that their fathers do. Each person must die for his own sins. 17 Remember to be completely fair to the foreign person and those who are without fathers. Do not take the coat of any woman whose husband has died, as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God made you free. That is why I tell you to do this.

19 When you bring in the food from your field, perhaps you will leave some of the corn in the field. Do not go back for it. Leave it there for the foreign person, the woman whose husband has died and for her children. If you do that, the LORD your God will cause all your work to be good. 20 When you knock down the olives from your trees, knock them down only once. Leave those that remain for foreign people, women whose husbands have died and their children. 21 When you pick your grapes, pick them only once. Leave those that remain for foreign people, women whose husbands have died and their children. 22 Remember! You were slaves in Egypt. That is why I tell you to do this.