Deuteronomy 24:8-18

8 “In all cases involving serious skin diseases, be careful to follow the instructions of the Levitical priests; obey all the commands I have given them.

9 Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam as you were coming from Egypt.

10 “If you lend anything to your neighbor, do not enter his house to pick up the item he is giving as security.

11 You must wait outside while he goes in and brings it out to you.

12 If your neighbor is poor and gives you his cloak as security for a loan, do not keep the cloak overnight.

13 Return the cloak to its owner by sunset so he can stay warm through the night and bless you, and the LORD your God will count you as righteous.

14 “Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers, whether they are fellow Israelites or foreigners living in your towns.

15 You must pay them their wages each day before sunset because they are poor and are counting on it. If you don’t, they might cry out to the LORD against you, and it would be counted against you as sin.

16 “Parents must not be put to death for the sins of their children, nor children for the sins of their parents. Those deserving to die must be put to death for their own crimes.

17 “True justice must be given to foreigners living among you and to orphans, and you must never accept a widow’s garment as security for her debt.

18 Always remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God redeemed you from your slavery. That is why I have given you this command.

Deuteronomy 24:8-18 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]. Traditionally rendered leprosy. The Hebrew word used here can describe various skin diseases.