Study Desk

"When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some ^(C1)indecency in her, that ^(C2)he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and ^(F1)sends her away from his house,

and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's wife,

and the latter husband ^(F1)turns against her, writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand, and ^(F2)sends her away from his house, or if the latter husband who took her to be his wife dies,

then her ^(C1)former husband who ^(F1)sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, after ^(F2)she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

"^(C1)When a man takes a new wife, he is not to go out with the army, nor be assigned any duty; he shall be free at home for one year and shall ^(C2)make his wife whom he has taken happy.

"No one shall seize a handmill or an upper millstone as a pledge for a loan, since he would be seizing the debtor's ^(F1)means of life as a pledge.

"^(C1)If someone is ^(F1)caught kidnapping any of his countrymen of the sons of Israel, and he treats him as merchandise and sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall eliminate the evil from among you.

"^(C1)Be careful about an infestation of leprosy, that you are very attentive and act in accordance with everything that the Levitical priests teach you; just as I have commanded them, you shall be careful to act.

"Remember what the LORD your God did ^(C1)to Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.

"^(C1)When you make your neighbor a loan of any kind, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge.

"You shall stand outside, and the person to whom you are making the loan shall bring the pledge outside to you.

"And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge.

"^(C1)When the sun goes down you shall certainly return the pledge to him, so that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and ^(C2)it will be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.

"^(C1)You shall not exploit a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your strangers who are in your land in your ^(F1)towns.

"^(C1)You shall give him his wages on his day ^(F1)before the sun sets—for he is poor and sets his ^(F2)heart on it—so that ^(C2)he does not cry out against you to the LORD, and it becomes a sin in you.

"^(C1)Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin alone.

"^(C1)You shall not pervert the justice ^(F1)due a stranger or ^(F2)an orphan, nor ^(C2)seize a widow's garment as a ^(F3)pledge.

"But you are to remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

"^(C1)When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you are not to go back to get it; it shall belong ^(C2)to the stranger, the ^(F1)orphan, and to the widow, in order that the LORD your God ^(C3)may bless you in all the work of your hands.

"^(C1)When you beat the olives off your olive tree, you are not to search through the branches ^(F1)again; that shall be left ^(C2)for the stranger, the ^(F2)orphan, and for the widow.

"When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you are not to ^(F1)go over it again; that shall be left for the stranger, the ^(F2)orphan, and the widow.

"And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

"So it will be when all of these things have come upon you, ^(C1)the blessing and the curse which I have placed before you, and you ^(F1)call them to mind ^(C2)in all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you,

and you ^(C1)return to the LORD your God and ^(F1)obey Him ^(C2)with all your heart and soul in accordance with everything that I am commanding you today, you and your sons,

then the LORD your God will ^(C1)restore ^(F1)you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and ^(C2)will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has ^(C3)scattered you.

"If any of your scattered countrymen are at the ^(F1)ends of the earth, ^(C1)from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will ^(F2)bring you back.

"^(C1)The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will be good to you and ^(C2)make you more numerous than your fathers.

"Moreover, ^(C1)the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your ^(F1)descendants, ^(C2)to love the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live.

"^(C1)And the LORD your God will ^(F1)inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.

"And you will again ^(F1)obey the LORD, and ^(F2)follow all His commandments which I am commanding you today.

"^(C1)Then the LORD your God will prosper you ^(F1)abundantly in every work of your hand, in the ^(F2)children of your womb, the ^(F2)offspring of your cattle, and in the ^(F2)produce of your ground, for ^(C2)the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers;

^(F1)if you ^(F2)obey the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which ^(C1)are written in this Book of the Law, ^(F1)if you turn to the LORD your God ^(C2)with all your heart and soul.

"For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away.

"It is not in heaven, ^(F1)that you could say, '^(C1)Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may ^(F2)follow it?'

"Nor is it beyond the sea, ^(F1)that you could say, 'Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may ^(F2)follow it?'

"On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may ^(F1)follow it.

"See, ^(C1)I have placed before you today life and ^(F1)happiness, and death and ^(F2)adversity,

in that I am commanding you today ^(C1)to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you ^(C2)may live and become numerous, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it.

"But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them,

I declare to you today that ^(C1)you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter ^(F1)and take possession of it.

"^(C1)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, ^(C2)the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your ^(F1)descendants,

^(C1)by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and ^(C2)by holding close to Him; ^(C3)for ^(F1)this is your life and the length of your days, ^(F2)so that you may live in ^(C4)the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."