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must die. In this way, you will purge the evil
from among you.
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.
19 “When you are harvesting your crops and
forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your
field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the Lord
your God will bless you in all you do. 20 When you
beat the olives from your olive trees, don’t go over
the boughs twice. Leave the remaining olives for
the foreigners, orphans, and widows. 21 When you
gather the grapes in your vineyard, don’t glean the
vines after they are picked. Leave the remaining
grapes for the foreigners, orphans, and widows.
22 Remember that you were slaves in the land of
Egypt. That is why I am giving you this command.
25
“Suppose two people take a dispute to
court, and the judges declare that one
is right and the other is wrong. 2 If the person in
the wrong is sentenced to be flogged, the judge
must command him to lie down and be beaten
in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate to the crime. 3 But never give more
than forty lashes; more than forty lashes would
publicly humiliate your neighbor.
4 “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from
eating as it treads out the grain.
24:8 Traditionally rendered leprosy. The Hebrew word used
here can describe various skin diseases.
DEUTER ONOM Y 25
5 “If two brothers are living together on the
same property and one of them dies without a
son, his widow may not be married to anyone
from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s
brother should marry her and have intercourse
with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law.
6 The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his
name will not be forgotten in Israel.
7 “But if the man refuses to marry his brother’s widow, she must go to the town gate and
say to the elders assembled there, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s
name in Israel—he refuses to fulfill the duties of
a brother-in-law by marrying me.’ 8 The elders of
the town will then summon him and talk with
him. If he still refuses and says, ‘I don’t want to
marry her,’ 9 the widow must walk over to him in
the presence of the elders, pull his sandal from
his foot, and spit in his face. Then she must
declare, ‘This is what happens to a man who
refuses to provide his brother with children.’
10 Ever afterward in Israel his family will be referred to as ‘the family of the man whose sandal
was pulled off’!
11 “If two Israelite men get into a fight and the
wife of one tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the testicles of the other man, 12 you must
cut off her hand. Show her no pity.
13 “You must use accurate scales when you
weigh out merchandise, 14 and you must use full
• Honesty &
Integrity
DE U TE R ON OM Y 25:13-15
Accurate scales and honest measurements are symbols of honesty in business. Would you sell a house or car for
a certain price knowing full well that
the new owner will incur a big expense
shortly after buying it? Would you buy
land from a farmer at a bargain price,
secretly knowing that the area is about to
be developed? Would you prescribe an
expensive medical treatment for a patient
who doesn’t really need it? We hear a lot
about the good life, suggesting that our
happiness is measured by the number
and quality of our possessions. But
getting things means little in the greater
scheme of life if we damage other people
in the process. When we are honest, we
experience distinct advantages: (1) We
do not feel compromised, (2) we earn
the respect and trust of others, and
(3) we receive God’s blessing.