Laws About Divorce and Marriage
Study note
Moses gives rules about divorce and remarriage. A divorced woman who marries another man cannot return to her first husband. Also, a newly married man is given a full year free from military duty to enjoy his new marriage.
1 A man marries a woman. Later he finds something about her that bothers him. He may write up a divorce paper. He hands it to her and sends her away. When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
2 After she leaves his home, she is free to marry someone else. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.
3 If her second husband also turns against her and divorces her, or if her second husband dies, And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife;
4 then her first husband -- the one who originally divorced her -- is not allowed to marry her again, because she has been with another man. The Lord would find that disgusting. Do not bring that kind of sin onto the land the Lord your God is giving you. Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
5 When a man has just gotten married, he must not be sent off to war or given any other official duty. He gets a full year off to stay home and make his new wife happy. When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.
Protecting the Vulnerable
Study note
These laws protect people from having their ability to earn a living taken away. Kidnapping is punishable by death. Instructions about skin diseases remind Israel to follow priestly guidance.
6 Never take someone's millstone -- or even part of it -- as collateral for a loan. That would be taking away their ability to feed themselves. No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man's life to pledge.
7 If anyone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite, either to use them as a slave or to sell them, the kidnapper must be put to death. Root out this evil from your community. If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.
8 When a skin disease shows up, follow the instructions of the Levitical priests exactly. Do everything I told them to do. Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so ye shall observe to do.
9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam during your journey out of Egypt. Remember what the LORD thy God did unto Miriam by the way, after that ye were come forth out of Egypt.
Fair Treatment of the Poor
Study note
Moses commands fair treatment of the poor, whether Israelite or foreigner. Loans must be handled with compassion, workers must be paid on time, and each person is responsible only for their own sins. Israel must remember they were once slaves and show the same mercy God showed them.
10 When you lend something to your neighbor, do not march into their house to grab the item they offered as security. When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shalt not go into his house to fetch his pledge.
11 Wait outside and let the borrower bring it out to you. Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee.
12 If the person borrowing from you is poor, do not keep what they gave you as a promise overnight. And if the man be poor, thou shalt not sleep with his pledge:
13 Return it before the sun goes down so they can sleep wrapped in their own cloak and be grateful to you. The Lord your God will consider this a good and right thing. In any case thou shalt deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee: and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the LORD thy God.
14 Never take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and in need. This is true whether the worker is an Israelite or a foreigner living in your land. Thou shalt not oppress an hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates:
15 Pay their wages every day before sunset, because they are poor and depending on that money. If you hold back their pay, they may cry out to the Lord about you, and you will be held guilty. At his day thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it: lest he cry against thee unto the LORD, and it be sin unto thee.
16 Parents must not be put to death for what their children did. Children must not be put to death for what their parents did. Each person answers only for their own sin. The 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.
17 Never twist the legal rights of foreigners or orphans. Never take a widow's clothing as collateral. Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of the stranger, nor of the fatherless; nor take a widow's raiment to pledge:
18 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God set you free. Therefore I am giving you this instruction. But thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee thence: therefore I command thee to do this thing.
Leaving Food for Those in Need
Study note
Farmers must leave some of their harvest behind for foreigners, orphans, and widows. Whether grain, olives, or grapes, the leftover produce is meant for those who have the least. This generosity reflects God's care for the vulnerable.
19 When you harvest your field and accidentally leave a bundle of grain behind, do not go back for it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord your God will bless all the work you do. When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
20 When you harvest olives from your trees, do not go back through the branches a second time. Whatever is left belongs to the foreigners, orphans, and widows. When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
21 When you pick grapes from your vineyard, do not go back over the vines again. Leave the remaining grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
22 Always remember that you were once slaves in Egypt. Therefore I am telling you to do these things. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.