Marriage and Divorce Laws (Matthew 5:31–32; Luke 16:18)
1 UST Suppose a man marries a woman and later decides that he does not want her because he finds something about her offensive. Then he must write a paper in which he says that he is divorcing her, give the paper to her, and send her away from his house. BSB BSB: 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.
2 UST After she leaves his house she is allowed to marry another man. BSB BSB: If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man’s wife,
3 UST Suppose that that man later also decides that he does not like her, and that he also writes a paper in which he says that he is divorcing her, gives it to her, and sends her away from his house. Or, suppose that the second husband dies. BSB BSB: 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,
4 UST If either of those things happen, her first husband must not marry her again. She is now unclean to him. Yahweh would consider it to be disgusting if he married her again. You must not desecrate the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you by doing that. BSB BSB: 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.
5 UST When a man has just married a woman, he must not become a soldier in the army. He must not have to do any other kind of government work. He must not do those things during the first year after he gets married. Instead, he must stay at home and do what he can to make his new wife happy. BSB BSB: 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.
Additional Laws 6 UST If someone lends money to another person, he may take something from that person as a guarantee that he will pay the money back. But he must not take a millstone. That is what the family needs to grind grain into flour in order to bake bread and stay alive. BSB BSB: 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.
7 UST If someone kidnaps a fellow Israelite to make that person his slave or to sell him to become someone else’ s slave, you must execute the person- stealer. By doing that, you will make sure no one among you does this evil action. BSB BSB: 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.
8 UST If you are suffering from leprosy, be sure to do everything that the priests, who are from the tribe of Levi, tell you to do. Obey carefully the instructions that I have given to them. BSB BSB: 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.
9 UST Remember that Yahweh our God caused Miriam to have leprosy as your ancestors were coming out of Egypt. That is a warning for you. BSB BSB: Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the journey after you came out of Egypt.
10 UST When you lend something to someone, do not go into his house to take whatever item he says that he will give you to guarantee that he will return what he has borrowed. BSB BSB: When you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect security.
11 UST Stand outside his house, and the man to whom you are lending something will bring the item out to you. BSB BSB: You are to stand outside while the man to whom you are lending brings the security out to you.
13 UST When the sun sets, be sure to take the cloak back to him, in order that he may wear it while he sleeps. If you do that, he will ask God to bless you, and Yahweh our God will be pleased with you. BSB BSB: 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.
14 UST Do not mistreat any servants whom you have hired who are poor and needy, whether they are Israelites or foreigners who are living in your towns. BSB BSB: 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.
15 UST Every day, before sunset, you must pay them the money that they have earned. They are poor and they need to get their pay. If you do not pay them right away, they will cry out against you to Yahweh, and he will punish you for having sinned like that. BSB BSB: 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.
16 UST You must not execute any parents for crimes that their children have committed, and you must not execute any children for crimes that their parents have committed. You should only execute someone for the crimes that they themselves have committed. BSB BSB: Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
17 UST You must do for foreigners who live among you and for orphans the things that the law commands you to do for them. Also, if you lend something to a widow, do not take her coat from her as a guarantee that she will return it. BSB BSB: Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security.
18 UST Do not forget that you had great troubles when you were slaves in Egypt, and that Yahweh our God rescued you from there. That is why I am commanding you to help others who have troubles. BSB BSB: 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.
19 UST When you harvest your crops, if you forget a bundle in the field, do not go back to get it. Leave it there for foreigners, orphans, and widows. If you do that, Yahweh our God will bless you in everything that you do. BSB BSB: 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.
20 UST And when you have harvested all your olives from the trees once, do not go back to pick the ones that are still on the trees. Leave them for foreigners, orphans, and widows. BSB BSB: 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.
21 UST Similarly, when you pick the grapes in your vineyard, do not go back a second time to try to find more. Leave them for foreigners, orphans, and widows. BSB BSB: 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.
22 UST Do not forget that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I am commanding you to be kind to those who are needy. BSB BSB: Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.