Deuteronomy24
New American Standard
1“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, that he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her away from his house,
2and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife,
3and the latter husband turns against her, writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand, and sends her away from his house, or if the latter husband who took her to be his wife dies,
4then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
5“When a man takes a new wife, he is not to go out with the army, nor be assigned any duty; he shall be free at home for one year and shall make his wife whom he has taken happy.
6“No one shall seize a handmill or an upper millstone as a pledge for a loan, since he would be seizing the debtor’s means of life as a pledge.
7“If someone is caught kidnapping any of his countrymen of the sons of Israel, and he treats him as merchandise and sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall eliminate the evil from among you.
8“Be careful about an infestation of leprosy, that you are very attentive and act in accordance with everything that the Levitical priests teach you; just as I have commanded them, you shall be careful to act.
9Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.
10“When you make your neighbor a loan of any kind, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge.
11You shall stand outside, and the person to whom you are making the loan shall bring the pledge outside to you.
12And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge.
13When the sun goes down you shall certainly return the pledge to him, so that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and it will be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.
14“You shall not exploit a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your strangers who are in your land in your towns.
15You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets—for he is poor and sets his heart on it—so that he does not cry out against you to the Lord, and it becomes a sin in you.
16“Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin alone.
17“You shall not pervert the justice due a stranger or an orphan, nor seize a widow’s garment as a pledge.
18But you are to remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
19“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you are not to go back to get it; it shall belong to the stranger, the orphan, and to the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
20When you beat the olives off your olive tree, you are not to search through the branches again; that shall be left for the stranger, the orphan, and for the widow.
21“When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you are not to go over it again; that shall be left for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow.
22And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 24.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Of divorce. (1–4). Of new-married persons, Of man-stealers, Of pledges. (5–13). Of justice and generosity. (14–22).
vv1-4
Where the providence of God, or his own wrong choice in marriage, has allotted to a Christian a trial instead of a help meet; he will from his heart prefer bearing the cross, to such relief as tends to sin, confusion, and misery. Divine grace will sanctify this cross, support under it, and teach so to behave, as will gradually render it more tolerable.
vv5-13
It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cover it, or endeavour to shake off their convictions; but by repentance, and prayer, and humble confession, take the way to peace and pardon. Some orders are given about pledges for money lent. This teaches us to consult the comfort and subsistence of others, as much as our own advantage. Let the poor debtor sleep in his own raiment, and praise God for thy kindness to him. Poor debtors ought to feel more than commonly they do, the goodness of creditors who do not take all the advantage of the law against them, nor should this ever be looked upon as weakness.
vv14-22
It is not hard to prove that purity, piety, justice, mercy, fair conduct, kindness to the poor and destitute, consideration for them, and generosity of spirit, are pleasing to God, and becoming in his redeemed people. The difficulty is to attend to them in our daily walk and conversation.
Key Words
אִישׁ: a man as an individual or a male person; often used as an adjunct to a more definite term (and in such cases frequently not expressed in translation)
לָקַח: to take (in the widest variety of applications)
אִשָּׁה: a woman
בָּעַל: to be master; hence, to marry
מָצָא: properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or acquire; figuratively, to occur, meet or be present
חֵן: graciousness, i.e. subjective (kindness, favor) or objective (beauty)
עַיִן: an eye (literally or figuratively); by analogy, a fountain (as the eye of the landscape)
דָּבָר: a word; by implication, a matter (as spoken of) or thing; adverbially, a cause
עֶרְוָה: nudity, literally (especially the pudenda) or figuratively (disgrace, blemish)
כָּתַב: to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe)
Cross References
Deuteronomy 24Jesus discusses Moses' permission of divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-4, attributing it to hardness of heart.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jeremiah directly references and applies this law forbidding a remarried woman from returning to her first husband.
Supported by Matthew Poole
King Amaziah explicitly obeys this command by not putting the children of his father's murderers to death.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
The foundational law making kidnapping and selling a fellow Israelite into slavery a capital offense.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
The historical account of Miriam being struck with leprosy, which Israel is commanded to remember here.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Parallels the prohibition against withholding the daily wages of a hired servant overnight.
Supported by JFB
Echoes the warning that unpaid wages cry out to God, resulting in judgment upon the oppressor.
Parallels the law requiring the return of a poor man's garment pledge before sunset.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Ezekiel reinforces the principle that individuals are responsible for their own sins, not their parents'.
Supported by John Calvin
Repeats the standard Deuteronomic motive: remembering Egypt's bondage to inspire mercy and obedience.
Establishes the gleaning laws for the poor, stranger, widow, and fatherless in Israel's harvests.
Malachi declares God's hatred of divorce, contrasting with the civil concession in Deuteronomy.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Paul includes 'menstealers' (kidnappers) in his New Testament list of lawbreakers deserving condemnation.
Protects strangers, widows, and orphans from injustice, mirroring the protections in verse 17.