1 If a man marries a woman, and then dislikes her because of some notable defect he discovers in her, he may write a certificate of divorce, give it to the woman, and send her out of his house.
2 If afterwards she becomes the wife of another man
3 and he also dislikes her and sends her out with a certificate of divorce; or, if this second man who took her to be his wife dies,
4 the first husband who sent her away cannot take her back as wife, since she has been defiled. It is an abomination in the eyes of Yahweh for him to take her back. You shall not defile the land which Yahweh will give you for an inheritance.
Solidarity in society
5 The newly married man shall not go to war or be given other pub lic duties. He shall be exempt from every thing throughout the year, that he may stay in his house and make his wife happy.
6 Mill and grindstone shall not be taken as a pledge. Can life be taken as a pledge?
7 If a man is caught kidnapping an Israelite, that is to say, one of his brothers, to sell him as a slave, the kid napper must die. So shall you banish evil from the midst of your people.
8 Be careful of contagious leprosy. Obey and put into practice what the Levite priests tell you to do; fulfill what I commanded them.
9 Remem ber what Yahweh, your God, did to Miriam, when the people were on the way coming out of Egypt.
10 When you lend anything to your neighbor, you shall not go into his house to take anything as pledge.
11 Wait outside, and he shall come out of the house to give you the pledge.
12 If you have taken as pledge the cloak of a poor man, you shall not keep it overnight;
13 you shall return it to him when the sun goes down that he may sleep in his cloak. Then the poor shall bless you and you shall be righteous in the eyes of Yahweh, your God.
14 Do not exploit the lowly and the poor daily-wage earner, whether he be one of your brothers or a foreigner whom you find in your land in any of your cities.
15 Pay him daily before the sun goes down, because he is poor and he depends on his earn ings. Then he will not cry to Yahweh against you, and you will have no sin.
16 Parents shall not be put to death for the sin of their children, nor the children for the sin of their parents. Everyone must pay for his own sin.
17 Do not violate the right of the foreigner, or of the orphan, or take as pledge the clothing of a widow.
18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and Yahweh, your God, rescued you. This is why I command you to do this.
19 When you harvest the wheat in your fields, if you drop a sheaf, do not return to pick it up, but let it be there for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow. Yahweh will bless you for this in all your work.
20 When you harvest your olives, do not go back to beat the trees another time, what is left shall be for the foreigner, the orphan and the widow.
21 When you gather the grapes in your vineyard, do not re turn to look for what has been left. This will be the share of the foreigner, the orphan and the widow.
22 Re member that you were a slave in Egypt. This is why, I command you to do this.
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Comments Deuteronomy, Chapter 24
• 24.5 We have here a series of laws promoting more human relations. This is the ex tent of the proph ets’ preaching: in all aspects of social life to create among people a spirit of cooperation and kindness similar to the merciful attitude of God him self.
All of this was meant for a nation of farmers with a rather primitive economy; it would have to be adapted for our more sophisticated society. To each of these prescriptions correspond, in the same order, many other aspects of a truly human legislation:
– help to the newly married;
– job security;
– the fight against prostitution and the exploitation of immigrants;
– the provision of a minimum recompense for those fired and for the families of strike rs;
– wages paid when due;
Then comes care for the abandoned. We can not consider what we earn as exclusively ours. We have an obligation to observe the laws of social solidarity and to pay faithfully what they require. Now no longer are we able to limit our solidarity to a national plan: the richer countries must share with others, that they have often ruined by their own development and the free exchange they have imposed on them.