Deuteronomy 24:5-25:4

New Life Version

⁵ “When a man takes a new wife, he must not go with the army or be given any other work. He should be free to be at home one year to make the wife he has taken happy.

⁶ “No one should take a man’s stones that he uses to crush grain as a promise to pay what he owes, for he would be taking away a man’s living.

⁷ “If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the sons of Israel, and makes it hard for him, or sells him, then that robber must die. You must get rid of the sin from among you.

⁸ “When there is a very bad skin disease, be careful to do all the Levite religious leaders tell you to do. Be careful to do what I have told them. ⁹ Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your way out of Egypt.

¹⁰ “When you let your neighbor use anything of yours, do not go into his house to take what he would give you to make his promise sure. ¹¹ Stay outside. The man who is using something of yours will bring the object out to you. ¹² If he is a poor man, do not keep what he gives you through the night. ¹³ Return his coat to him when the sun goes down so he may sleep in it and be thankful for you. You will be doing what is right before the Lord your God.

¹⁴ “Do not make it hard for a paid servant who is poor and in need, if he is one of your brothers or one of the strangers who is living in one of your towns. ¹⁵ Give him his pay on the day he earns it before the sun goes down. He is poor and he needs it. Then he will not cry to the Lord against you and you would be guilty of sin.

¹⁶ “Fathers are not to be put to death for their children. Children are not to be put to death for their fathers. Each man will be put to death for his own sin.

¹⁷ “Do what is fair for a stranger or a child whose parents are dead. Do not take the clothing of a woman whose husband has died to make sure she will pay what she owes. ¹⁸ Remember that you were servants in Egypt, and that the Lord your God set you free. So I am telling you to do this.

¹⁹ “When you gather the grain in your field and have forgotten some of it, do not return to the field to get it. Leave it for the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. Then the Lord your God will bring good to you in all the work of your hands. ²⁰ When you beat your olive trees, do not beat the branches a second time. Leave the fruit for the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. ²¹ When you gather the grapes from your vines, do not gather a second time. Leave them for the stranger, the child whose parents have died, and the woman whose husband has died. ²² Remember that you were servants in the land of Egypt. Because of this, I am telling you to do this.

25 “Two men might argue and go to court. The judges will decide between them, saying that the right man is not guilty and that the sinful man is guilty. ² If the sinful man should be beaten, the leader will make him lie down and be beaten in front of him. The number of times he is beaten will be decided upon by how bad his sin is. ³ The number may be as much as forty, but no more. If he is beaten more than this, your brother would be put to much shame in your eyes.

⁴ “When the bull is made to walk on the grain to break it open, do not stop him from eating some.