Deuteronomy 24

All 22 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1If a man marries a woman and later finds something indecent about her that makes him unhappy with her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.
2. 2After she leaves his house, she is free to go and marry another man.
3. 3If this second husband also turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away — or if the second husband dies —
4. 4then her first husband, who divorced her, must not marry her again, because she has been defiled. That would be an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin on the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
5. 5When a man has married a new wife, he must not go out to war or be assigned any duty. He must be free at home for 1 year and cheer up the wife he has married.
6. 6No one may take a millstone — either the upper or lower stone — as collateral for a debt. That would be taking away someone's ability to make a living.
7. 7If anyone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating that person as a slave or selling them, the kidnapper must be put to death. You must purge this evil from among you.
8. 8When an outbreak of leprosy appears, be very careful to follow every instruction the Levitical priests give you. Obey exactly what I commanded them.
9. 9Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam along the road after you left Egypt.
10. 10When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, don't go into his house to collect whatever he's offering as collateral.
11. 11Stay outside, and let the person you're lending to bring the collateral out to you.
12. 12If the borrower is poor, don't keep his collateral overnight.
13. 13Make sure you return it to him by sunset so he can sleep in his own cloak and bless you. This will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.
14. 14Don't take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and struggling, whether that person is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner living in one of your towns.
15. 15Pay him his wages each day before the sun goes down, because he is poor and counting on that money. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
16. 16Parents must not be executed for their children's crimes, and children must not be executed for their parents' crimes. Each person must be put to death only for their own sin.
17. 17Don't deny justice to a foreigner or an orphan, and never take a widow's clothing as collateral for a debt.
18. 18Remember that you were once a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. Therefore, I command you to do this thing.
19. 19When you're harvesting your field and you forget a sheaf behind, don't go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless everything you do.
20. 20When you beat the olives from your trees, don't go over the branches a second time. What's left behind is for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.
21. 21When you harvest your vineyard, don't go back and pick what you missed. Leave it for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.
22. 22Remember that you were once slaves in the land of Egypt. That's why I'm commanding you to do this.