Laws Concerning Divorce

24 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and ^ehe writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then ^fher former husband, who sent her away, may not 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 upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Miscellaneous Laws

5 ^g“When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year ^hto be happy with his wife¹ whom he has taken.

6 “No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.

7 ⁱ“If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he ^jtreats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. ^kSo you shall purge the evil from your midst.

8 “Take care, in ^la case of leprous² disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to ^mMiriam ⁿon the way as you came out of Egypt.

10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. 13 ^oYou shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and ^pbless you. And ^qit shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God.

14 “You shall not ^roppress a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 ^sYou shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), ^tlest he cry against you to the Lord, and you be guilty of sin.

16 ^u“Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

17 ^v“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, ^wor take a widow’s garment in pledge, 18 but ^xyou shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

19 ^y“When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, ^zthat the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 ^xYou shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

25 “If there is a ^adispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, ^bacquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, 2 then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 3 ^cForty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.

4 ^d“You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.

Laws Concerning Levirate Marriage

5 ^e“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her ^fhusband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that ^ghis name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall ^hgo up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ⁱ‘I do not wish to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and ^jpull his sandal off his foot and ^kspit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not ^lbuild up his brother’s house.’ 10 And the name of his house¹ shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’

Miscellaneous Laws

11 “When men fight with one another and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, 12 then you shall cut off her hand. ^mYour eye shall have no pity.

13 “You ⁿshall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and fair² weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, ^othat your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For ^pall who do such things, all who act dishonestly, ^qare an abomination to the Lord your God.

17 ^r“Remember what Amalek did to you ^son the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and ^tcut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore ^uwhen the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall ^vblot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes

26 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance and have taken possession of it and live in it, 2 ^wyou shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall ^xgo to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land ^ythat the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God.

5 “And you shall make response before the Lord your God, ‘A ^zwandering Aramean was my father. And he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, ^afew in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. 6 And ^bthe Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard labor. 7 Then ^cwe cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8 And ^dthe Lord brought us out of Egypt ^ewith a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror,¹ with signs and wonders. 9 And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, ^fa land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O Lord, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the Lord your God and worship before the Lord your God. 11 And ^gyou shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.

12 “When you have finished paying all ^hthe tithe of your produce in the third year, which is ⁱthe year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, ^jnor have I forgotten them. 14 ^kI have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it ^lto the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. 15 ^mLook down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 ⁿYou have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. 18 And the Lord has declared today that you are ^oa people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, 19 and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor ^phigh above all nations ^qthat he has made, and that you shall be ^ra people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”

The Altar on Mount Ebal

27 Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2 And on the day ^syou cross over the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 ^tAnd you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, ^ua land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, ^von Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. 5 And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. ^wYou shall wield no iron tool on them; 6 you shall build an altar to the Lord your God of uncut¹ stones. And you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God, 7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and ^xshall eat there, and you ^xshall rejoice before the Lord your God. 8 And ^yyou shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”

Curses from Mount Ebal

9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Keep silence and hear, O Israel: ^zthis day you have become the people of the Lord your God. 10 You shall therefore obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today.”

11 That day Moses charged the people, saying, 12 “When you have crossed over the Jordan, ^athese shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 And ^bthe Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice:

15 ^c“‘Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ ^dAnd all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’

16 ^e“‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

17 ^f“‘Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

18 ^g“‘Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

19 ^h“‘Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

20 ⁱ“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his father’s wife, because he has ^juncovered his father’s nakedness.’² And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

21 ^k“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

22 ^l“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

23 ^m“‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother-in-law.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

24 ⁿ“‘Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

25 ^o“‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

26 ^p“‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Blessings for Obedience

28 “And ^qif you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you ^rhigh above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and ^sovertake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3 Blessed shall you be in the city, and ^tblessed shall you be in the field. 4 Blessed shall be ^uthe fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5 Blessed shall be your basket and your ^vkneading bowl. 6 Blessed shall you be ^wwhen you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 “The Lord ^xwill cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 The Lord ^ywill command the blessing on you in your barns and ^zin all that you undertake. ^aAnd he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 9 ^bThe Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10 And ^call the peoples of the earth shall see that you are ^dcalled by the name of the Lord, and they shall be ^eafraid of you. 11 And ^fthe Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in ^uthe fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12 The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, ^gto give the rain to your land in its season and ^hto bless all the work of your hands. And ⁱyou shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13 And the Lord will make you ^jthe head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, 14 ^kand if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Curses for Disobedience

15 “But ^lif you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and ^movertake you. 16 Cursed shall you be ⁿin the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 17 Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. 18 Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20 “The Lord ^owill send on you curses, confusion, and ^pfrustration in all that you undertake to do, ^quntil you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. 21 The Lord will make ^rthe pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 22 ^sThe Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought¹ and with ^tblight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And ^uthe heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. 24 The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 ^v“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you ^wshall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 26 And ^xyour dead body shall be food for all birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth, and ^ythere shall be no one to frighten them away. 27 The Lord will strike you ^zwith the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and ^ascabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed. 28 The Lord will strike you with ^bmadness and blindness and confusion of mind, 29 and you shall ^cgrope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways.² And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you. 30 ^dYou shall betroth a wife, but another man shall ravish her. ^eYou shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it. ^fYou shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat any of it. Your donkey shall be seized before your face, but shall not be restored to you. Your sheep shall be given to your enemies, but there shall be no one to help you. 32 ^gYour sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, while your eyes look on and fail with longing for them all day long, ^hbut you shall be helpless. 33 A nation that you have not known shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually, 34 so that you are driven mad ⁱby the sights that your eyes see. 35 The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs ^jwith grievous boils of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.