Deuteronomy 24:1-6

Marriage and Divorce Laws

1 "If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something improper about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.^[a]

2 If after leaving his house she goes and becomes another man's wife,

3 and the second man hates her, writes her a divorce certificate, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house or if he^[b] dies,

4 the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt on the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

5 "When a man takes a bride, he must not go out with the army or be liable for any duty. He is free [to stay] at home for one year, so that he can bring joy to the wife he has married.

Safeguarding Life

6 "Do not take a pair of millstones or an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that is like taking a life as security.

Deuteronomy 24:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 24

This chapter contains various laws concerning divorces, De 24:1-4; the discharge of a newly married man from war and business, De 24:5; about taking pledges, De 24:6,10-13; man stealing, De 24:7; the plague of leprosy, De 24:8,9; and giving servants their hire in due time, De 24:14,15; concerning doing justice in capital cases, and towards the stranger, fatherless, and widow, De 24:16-18; and of charity to the poor, in allowing them the forgotten sheaf, and the gleanings of their oliveyards and vineyards, De 24:19-22.

Footnotes

• [a]. Mt 5:31; 19:7; Mk 10:4
• [b]. Lit if the second man who has taken her as his wife