Deuteronomy 24–27

24TH CHAPTER

Various Laws

¹This is what you must do if a husband writes out a certificate of divorce, gives it to his wife, and makes her leave his house. (He divorced her because he found out something indecent about her and she no longer pleased him.) ²She might marry another man after she leaves his house. ³If her second husband doesn’t love her and divorces her, or if he dies, ⁴her first husband is not allowed to marry her again. She has become unclean.^aThis would be disgusting in the Lord’s presence. Don’t pollute with sin the land that the Lord your God is giving you as your property. 

⁵A man who has recently been married will be free from military duty or any other public service. For one year he is free to stay at home and make his new wife happy. 

⁶Never let a family’s handmill for grinding flour—or even part of a handmill—be taken to guarantee a loan. The family wouldn’t be able to prepare food in order to stay alive. 

⁷Whoever kidnaps another Israelite must die. The kidnapper must die, whether he treated the other person like a slaveor sold him. You must get rid of this evil. 

⁸Guard against outbreaks of serious skin diseases. Be very careful to do exactly as the Levitical priests instruct you. Make sure you do what I commanded them. ⁹Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your trip from Egypt. 

¹⁰When you make a loan to your neighbor, don’t go into his house to take a security deposit. ¹¹Wait outside, and the person to whom you’re making the loan will bring the deposit out to you. ¹²If the person is poor, don’t keep the coat you took as a deposit overnight. ¹³Make sure you bring it back to him at sunset. When he wears his coat to bed ⸤that night⸥, he’ll bless you. You will have done the right thing in the presence of the Lord your God. 

¹⁴Don’t withhold pay from hired workers who are poor and needy, whether they are Israelites or foreigners living in one of your cities. ¹⁵Pay them each day before sunset because they are poor and need their pay. Otherwise, they will complain to the Lord about you, and you will be condemned for your sin. 

¹⁶Parents must never be put to death for the crimes of their children, and children must never be put to death for the crimes of their parents. Each person must be put to death for his own crime. 

¹⁷Never deprive foreigners and orphans of justice. And never take widows’ clothes to guarantee a loan. ¹⁸Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God freed you from slavery. So I’m commanding you to do this. 

¹⁹This is what you must do when you’re harvesting wheat in your field. If you forget to bring in one of the bundles of wheat, don’t go back to get it. Leave it there for foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. 

²⁰When you harvest olives from your trees, never knock down all of them. Leave some for foreigners, orphans, and widows. 

²¹When you pick the grapes in your vineyard, don’t pick all of them. Leave some for foreigners, orphans, and widows. ²²Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. So I’m commanding you to do this. 

25TH CHAPTER

Various Laws

¹This is what you must do whenever ⸤two⸥ people have a disagreement that is brought into court. The judges will hear the case and decide who’s right and who’s wrong. ²If the person who’s in the wrong deserves to be beaten, the judge will order him to lie down. Then the judge will have him beaten with as many lashes as the crime deserves. ³Forty lashes may be given, but no more. If an Israelite were given more than that, he would be publicly humiliated. 

⁴Never muzzle an ox when it’s threshing^agrain. 

⁵When brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother must marry her and sleep with her. He must do his duty as her brother-in-law. ⁶Then the first son she has will carry the dead brother’s name so that his name won’t die out in Israel. 

⁷But if the man doesn’t want to marry his brother’s widow, she must go to the leaders of the city at the city gate. She must say, “My brother-in-law refuses to let his brother’s name continue in Israel. He doesn’t want to do his duty as my brother-in-law.” ⁸Then the leaders of the city must summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying that he doesn’t want to marry her, ⁹his brother’s widow must go up to him in the presence of the leaders. She must take off one of his sandals and spit in his face. She must make this formal statement: “This is what happens to a man who refuses to continue his brother’s family line.” ¹⁰Then in Israel his family will be called the Family of the Man Without a Sandal. 

¹¹This is what you must do when two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from the man who is beating him. If she tries to stop the fight by grabbing the other man’s genitals, ¹²cut off her hand. Have no pity on her. 

¹³Never carry two sets of weights, a heavier one and a lighter one. ¹⁴Never have two kinds of measures in your house, a larger one and a smaller one. ¹⁵Use accurate and honest weights and measures. Then you will live for a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁶Everyone who uses dishonest weights and measures is disgusting to the Lord. 

¹⁷Remember what the Amalekites did to you on your trip from Egypt. ¹⁸They attacked you when you were tired and exhausted and killed all those who were lagging behind. They weren’t afraid of God. ¹⁹So when the Lord your God gives you peace from all your enemies around you in the land that he is giving you as your own property, don’t forget to erase every memory of the Amalekites from the earth. 

26TH CHAPTER

A Reminder to Keep God’s Laws

¹Soon you will enter and take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you as your property. When you have settled there, ²take some of the first produce harvested from the fields in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket. Then go to the place where the Lord your God will choose for his name to live. ³Go to the priest who is serving at that time, and tell him, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land that the Lord is giving us, as he swore to our ancestors.” ⁴Then the priest will take the basket from you and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵You will make this formal statement in the presence of the Lord your God: “My ancestors were wandering Arameans. There were only a few of them when they went to Egypt and lived as foreigners. But then they became a great, powerful, and large nation. ⁶So the Egyptians treated us cruelly, oppressed us, and made us do back-breaking work for them. ⁷We cried out to the Lord God of our ancestors, and he heard us. He saw our misery, suffering, and oppression. ⁸Then the Lord used his mighty hand and powerful arm to bring us out of Egypt. He used spectacular and awe-inspiring deeds, miraculous signs, and amazing things. ⁹He brought us to this place and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰So now I’ve brought the first produce harvested from the fields you gave me, Lord.” 

You will place the basket in the presence of the Lord your God and bow down in front of him. ¹¹Then you, the Levites, and the foreigners who live among you can enjoy all the good things which the Lord your God has given you and your family. 

¹²Every third year is the year when you will store a tenth of that year’s crops ⸤in your houses⸥. During that year distribute what you have stored to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows in your cities, and they may eat all they want. ¹³When you have distributed all that was stored, say to the Lord your God, “Nothing is left of the holy offering stored in my house. I distributed it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows as you commanded me. I disobeyed none of your commands, and I didn’t forget to do what you commanded. ¹⁴I didn’t eat any of this holy offering while I was in mourning. I didn’t distribute any of it while I was unclean.^aI didn’t offer any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God. I have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵Look down from your holy place in heaven. Bless your people Israel and the land flowing with milk and honey that you have given us, as you promised with an oath to our ancestors.” 

¹⁶Today the Lord your God is commanding you to obey these laws and rules. You must faithfully obey them with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁷Today you have declared that the Lord is your God and that you will follow his directions, obey his laws, commands, and rules, and listen to him. ¹⁸Today the Lord has declared that you are his people, his own special possession, as he told you. But you must be sure to obey his commands. ¹⁹Then he will place you high above all the other nations he has made. He will give you praise, fame, and honor, and you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised. 

27TH CHAPTER

Write the Law on Stones

¹Moses and the leaders of Israel told the people, “Obey every command I’m giving you today. 

²“The day you cross the Jordan River and enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and cover them with plaster. ³The Lord God of your ancestors is giving you a land flowing with milk and honey, as he promised you. After you’re in that land, write all the words of these teachings on the stones. ⁴After you cross the Jordan River, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, and cover them with plaster, following the command I’m giving you today. ⁵Build an altar of stones there dedicated to the Lord your God. Don’t use an iron chisel on the stones. ⁶You must use uncut stones to build the altar of the Lord your God. Sacrifice burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. ⁷Sacrifice fellowship offerings, eat them there, and enjoy yourselves in the presence of the Lord your God. ⁸Write clearly and carefully all the words of these…