Deuteronomy24
World English Bible · Public Domain
1When a man takes a wife and marries her, then it shall be, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a certificate of divorce, put it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
2When she has departed out of his house, she may go and be another man’s wife.
3If the latter husband hates her, and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; or if the latter husband dies, who took her to be his wife;
4her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife after she is defiled; for that would be an abomination to Yahweh. You shall not cause the land to sin, which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance.
5When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out in the army, neither shall he be assigned any business. He shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he has taken.
6No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone as a pledge, for he takes a life in pledge.
7If a man is found stealing any of his brothers of the children of Israel, and he deals with him as a slave, or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
8Be careful in the plague of leprosy, that you observe diligently and do according to all that the Levitical priests teach you. As I commanded them, so you shall observe to do.
9Remember what Yahweh your God did to Miriam, by the way as you came out of Egypt.
10When you lend your neighbor any kind of loan, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge.
11You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge outside to you.
12If he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge.
13You shall surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment and bless you. It shall be righteousness to you before Yahweh your God.
14You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the foreigners who are in your land within your gates.
15In his day you shall give him his wages, neither shall the sun go down on it, for he is poor and sets his heart on it, lest he cry against you to Yahweh, and it be sin to you.
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.
17You shall not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, nor take a widow’s clothing in pledge;
18but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you there. Therefore I command you to do this thing.
19When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow, that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
20When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
21When you harvest your vineyard, you shall not glean it after yourselves. It shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
22You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command 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.