Deuteronomy 2424DeuteronomyLaws for life in the landBible in Basic English

Bible in Basic EnglishBerean Standard Bible

1. Marriage and Divorce Laws

   (Matthew 5:31–32; Luke 16:18)

2. 1BBEIf a man takes a wife, and after they are married she is unpleasing to him because of some bad quality in her, let him give her a statement in writing and send her away from his house.BSBBSB: If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.
3. 2BBEAnd when she has gone away from him, she may become another man's wife.BSBBSB: If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife,
4. 3BBEAnd if the second husband has no love for her and, giving her a statement in writing, sends her away; or if death comes to the second husband to whom she was married;BSBBSB: and the second man hates her, writes her a certificate of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house, or if he dies,
5. 4BBEHer first husband, who had sent her away, may not take her back after she has been wife to another; for that is disgusting to the Lord: and you are not to be a cause of sin in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage.BSBBSB: then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
6. 5BBEA newly married man will not have to go out with the army or undertake any business, but may be free for one year, living in his house for the comfort of his wife.BSBBSB: If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the wife he has married.

7. Additional Laws

8. 6BBENo one is to take, on account of a debt, the stones with which grain is crushed: for in doing so he takes a man's living.BSBBSB: Do not take a pair of millstones or even an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that would be taking one’s livelihood as security.
9. 7BBEIf a man takes by force one of his countrymen, the children of Israel, using him as his property or getting a price for him, that thief is to be put to death: so you are to put away evil from among you.BSBBSB: If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.
10. 8BBEIn connection with the leper's disease, take care to keep and do every detail of the teaching of the priests, the Levites: as I gave them orders, so you are to do.BSBBSB: In cases of infectious skin diseases, be careful to diligently follow everything the Levitical priests instruct you. Be careful to do as I have commanded them.
11. 9BBEKeep in mind what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way, when you came out of Egypt.BSBBSB: Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the journey after you came out of Egypt.
12. 10BBEIf you let your brother have the use of anything which is yours, do not go into his house and take anything of his as a sign of his debt;BSBBSB: When you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect security.
13. 11BBEBut keep outside till he comes out and gives it to you.BSBBSB: You are to stand outside while the man to whom you are lending brings the security out to you.
14. 12BBEIf he is a poor man, do not keep his property all night;BSBBSB: If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession;
15. 13BBEBut be certain to give it back to him when the sun goes down, so that he may have his clothing for sleeping in, and will give you his blessing: and this will be put to your account as righteousness before the Lord your God.BSBBSB: be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before the LORD your God.
16. 14BBEDo not be hard on a servant who is poor and in need, if he is one of your countrymen or a man from another nation living with you in your land.BSBBSB: Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.
17. 15BBEGive him his payment day by day, not keeping it back over night; for he is poor and his living is dependent on it; and if his cry against you comes to the ears of the Lord, it will be judged as sin in you.BSBBSB: You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
18. 16BBEFathers are not to be put to death for their children or children for their fathers: every man is to be put to death for the sin which he himself has done.BSBBSB: Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
19. 17BBEBe upright in judging the cause of the man from a strange country and of him who has no father; do not take a widow's clothing on account of a debt:BSBBSB: Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security.
20. 18BBEBut keep in mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God made you free: for this is why I give you orders to do this.BSBBSB: Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from that place. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
21. 19BBEWhen you get in the grain from your field, if some of the grain has been dropped by chance in the field, do not go back and get it, but let it be for the man from a strange land, the child without a father, and the widow: so that the blessing of the Lord your God may be on all the work of your hands.BSBBSB: If you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
22. 20BBEWhen you are shaking the fruit from your olive-trees, do not go over the branches a second time: let some be for the man from a strange land, the child without a father, and the widow.BSBBSB: When you beat the olives from your trees, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.
23. 21BBEWhen you are pulling the grapes from your vines, do not take up those which have been dropped; let them be for the man from a strange land, the child without a father, and the widow.BSBBSB: When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not go over the vines again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow.
24. 22BBEKeep in mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt: for this is why I give you orders to do this.BSBBSB: Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.