Deuteronômio 24

ARC · Chapter 24/34

1Quando um homem tomar uma mulher, e se casar com ella, então será que, se não achar graça em seus olhos, por n'ella achar coisa feia, elle lhe fará escripto de repudio, e lh'o dará na sua mão, e a despedirá da sua casa.

2Se, pois, saindo da sua casa, fôr, e se casar com outro homem,

3E este ultimo homem a aborrecer, e lhe fizer escripto de repudio, e lh'o dér na sua mão, e a despedir da sua casa, ou se este ultimo homem, que a tomou para si por mulher, vier a morrer,

4Então seu primeiro marido, que a despediu, não poderá tornar a tomal-a, para que seja sua mulher, depois que foi contaminada: pois é abominação perante o Senhor; assim não farás peccar a terra que o Senhor teu Deus te dá por herança.

5Quando algum homem tomar uma mulher nova não sairá á guerra, nem se lhe imporá carga alguma; por um anno inteiro ficará livre na sua casa, e alegrará a sua mulher, que tomou

6Não se tomarão em penhor as mós ambas, nem a mó de cima nem a de baixo; pois se penhoraria assim a vida.

7Quando se achar alguem que furtar um d'entre os seus irmãos, dos filhos d'Israel, e com elle ganhar, e o vender, o tal ladrão morrerá, e tirarás o mal do meio de ti.

8Guarda-te da praga da lepra, que tenhas grande cuidado de fazer conforme a tudo o que te ensinarem os sacerdotes levitas; como lhes tenho ordenado, terás cuidado de o fazer.

9Lembra-te do que o Senhor teu Deus fez a Miriam no caminho, quando saiste do Egypto.

10Quando emprestares alguma coisa ao teu proximo, não entrarás em sua casa, para lhe tirar o penhor.

11Fóra estarás; e o homem, a quem emprestaste, te trará fóra o penhor.

12Porém, se fôr homem pobre, te não deitarás com o seu penhor.

13Em se pondo o sol, certamente lhe restituirás o penhor; para que durma na sua roupa, e te abençoe: e isto te será justiça diante do Senhor teu Deus.

14Não opprimirás o jornaleiro pobre e necessitado de teus irmãos, ou de teus estrangeiros, que estão na tua terra e nas tuas portas.

15No seu dia lhe darás o seu jornal, e o sol se não porá sobre isso: porquanto pobre é, e sua alma se atém a isso: para que não clame contra ti ao Senhor, e haja em ti peccado.

16Os paes não morrerão pelos filhos, nem os filhos pelos paes: cada qual morrerá pelo seu peccado.

17Não perverterás o direito do estrangeiro e do orphão; nem tomarás em penhor a roupa da viuva.

18Mas lembrar-te-has de que foste servo no Egypto, e de que o Senhor te livrou d'ali: pelo que te ordeno que faças isto.

19Quando no teu campo segares a tua sega, e esqueceres uma gavela no campo, não tornarás a tomal-a; para o estrangeiro, para o orphão, e para a viuva será; para que o Senhor teu Deus te abençoe em toda a obra das tuas mãos

20Quando sacudires a tua oliveira, não tornarás atraz de ti a sacudir os ramos: para o estrangeiro, para o orphão, e para a viuva será.

21Quando vindimares a tua vinha, não tornarás atraz de ti a rabiscal-a: para o estrangeiro, para o orphão, e para a viuva será.

22E lembrar-te-has de que foste servo na terra do Egypto: pelo que te ordeno que faças isto.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Moses establishes the law of the certificate of divorce (forbidding a return to a former spouse after remarriage), a one-year military exemption for the newly married, a prohibition against taking essential survival tools as collateral, and various laws protecting workers, foreigners, orphans, and widows, including leaving the gleanings of the harvest for the needy.

Explanation

The law of the certificate of divorce, though it regulates a practice that already existed rather than instituting it, establishes important protections: it formalizes the process (requiring documentation, not informal abandonment) and forbids the first husband from reclaiming his wife after she has remarried, preventing manipulation or the treatment of the woman as property to be traded. The protection against taking 'the millstones' as collateral, tools used daily to grind grain and prepare basic food, shows a practical sensitivity about never depriving a family of the essential means of survival, even in the legitimate collection of a debt. The principle of leaving part of the harvest for the poor (forgotten sheaves, olives not gone over a second time, grapes not gleaned) institutionalized a simple but effective system of social assistance based on the agricultural produce itself, without the need for bureaucracy or centralized distribution of resources.

Fun facts

  • Jesus is questioned specifically about this divorce law in Matthew 19:7-8, answering that Moses permitted it 'because of the hardness of your hearts,' but that God's original ideal for marriage was different and higher, distinguishing between a regulatory concession and the divine ideal.
  • The story of Ruth gleaning in Boaz's field (Ruth 2) is the most famous practical application of the law of leaving the gleanings of the harvest for the poor and the foreigner mentioned here, showing this law being lived out concretely in the biblical narrative.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronômio 24:1The law is not commanding the husband to divorce, it is regulating what was already happening: it requires a formal document of divorce and forbids the first husband from remarrying the woman after she has married another man. Jewish scholars debated for centuries what counted as an acceptable reason for that document.
  2. Deuteronômio 24:2It provides for the case of the divorced woman who marries another man.
  3. Deuteronômio 24:3It continues the scenario: if this second husband also rejects her, or dies, she becomes free again.
  4. Deuteronômio 24:4The final rule forbids the first husband from marrying her again, treating that reunion as defilement — a specific law with no clear parallel among other ancient peoples.
  5. Deuteronômio 24:5A newly married man was excused from war and from any other duty for a full year, to bring joy to “his wife.” It’s one of the few laws in the book thought out entirely for the well-being of the new marriage, not for war or worship.
  6. Deuteronômio 24:6A millstone for grinding grain could not be taken as collateral for a debt, because that would mean taking “a man’s life to pledge”: without it, a family could not make the flour for its own daily bread.
  7. Deuteronômio 24:7Kidnapping and selling a fellow Israelite as a slave is a capital crime, treated with the same gravity as other crimes that call for purging evil from among the people.
  8. Deuteronômio 24:8Regarding cases of leprosy, the instruction is to follow exactly what the Levitical priests teach, without deviating.
  9. Deuteronômio 24:9It cites the episode of Miriam, punished with leprosy in the wilderness, as a reminder of how serious these purity laws are.
  10. Deuteronômio 24:10When lending something to someone, the creditor may not go into that person’s house to seize the collateral by force.
  11. Deuteronômio 24:11The correct procedure is to wait outside, letting the debtor himself bring out the pledged item.
  12. Deuteronômio 24:12If the debtor is poor, the creditor must not go to sleep still holding his pledge.
  13. Deuteronômio 24:13The pledge — usually a piece of clothing — was to be returned by sunset, so the person could sleep wrapped in it.
  14. Deuteronômio 24:14A poor day laborer had to be paid on the same day, before sunset, because he depended on those wages to eat that night. A late payment wasn’t just bad manners, it was a risk of hunger.
  15. Deuteronômio 24:15The day laborer’s pay must be made on the same day, without delay, because he financially depends on it.
  16. Deuteronômio 24:16It establishes individual responsibility: no one is to be put to death for the crime of another family member.
  17. Deuteronômio 24:17It reinforces the legal protection of foreigners and orphans, and forbids taking a widow’s clothing as collateral for a debt.
  18. Deuteronômio 24:18Once again, the reason given is remembering their own experience of slavery in Egypt as the basis for treating the vulnerable well.
  19. Deuteronômio 24:19When gathering the harvest, the olives, or the grapes, the owner could not go back for what was left over or forgotten: that was deliberately left for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow to gather afterward. It’s the law of gleaning, a form of social assistance built into the harvest itself, without depending on direct charity.
  20. Deuteronômio 24:20The same practice applies to the olive harvest: not going back to strip what was left on the branches.
  21. Deuteronômio 24:21And also to the grape harvest: not going back over it, leaving what remains for those in need.
  22. Deuteronômio 24:22It closes the chapter repeating the usual reason: the memory of slavery in Egypt is what sustains these laws of generosity.

Chapters

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.