Study Desk

"A woman must not wear men's clothes, and a man must not wear women's clothes. That is disgusting to the Lord your God.

But the Lord your God refused to do what Balaam asked. Instead, the Lord changed the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.

This is because the Lord your God is there with you in your camp to save you and to help you defeat your enemies. So the camp must be holy. Then he will not see something disgusting and leave you.

The money earned by a prostitute, either a male or female, must not be brought to the special house of the Lord your God. That money cannot be used to pay for a gift that was promised to the Lord your God, because that kind of sin is disgusting to him.

You may charge interest to a foreigner. But you must not charge interest to another Israelite. If you follow these rules, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do in the land where you are going to live.

"When you make a promise to the Lord your God, don't be slow to pay everything you promised. The Lord your God will demand that you pay it. You will sin if you don't pay what you promised.

But you must do what you say you will do. If you choose to make a promise to the Lord your God, you must do what you promised.

But suppose the new husband also does not like her and sends her away. If that man divorces her, the first husband may not take her again to be his wife. Or if the new husband dies, her first husband may not take her again to be his wife. She has become unclean to him. If he married her again, he would be doing something the Lord hates. You must not sin like this in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on your trip out of Egypt.

You must give his security back to him every evening. Then he will have clothes to sleep in. He will bless you, and the Lord your God will accept this as living right and doing good.

Remember, you were poor slaves in Egypt. And the Lord your God took you from that place and set you free. That is why I tell you to do these things for the poor.

"You might be gathering your harvest in the field, and you might forget and leave some grain there. You must not go back to get it. It will be for the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows. If you leave some grain for them, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

You must use weights and measures that are correct and accurate. Then you will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

The Lord your God hates people who cheat with false weights and measures. Yes, he hates all people who do wrong.

The Amalekites did not respect God. They attacked you when you were weak and tired. They killed all your people who were slow and walking behind everyone else.

That is why you must destroy the memory of the Amalekites from the world. You will do this when you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. There he will give you rest from all the enemies around you. But do not forget to destroy the Amalekites!

"You will soon enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You will take that land and live there.

You will gather the crops that grow in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You must take some of the first crops you gather and put them in baskets. Then take that part of your harvest to the place that the Lord your God chooses to be the home for his name.

Go to the priest who is serving at that time. Tell him, ‘The Lord promised our ancestors that he would give us some land. Today I come to announce to the Lord your God that I have come to that land.'

"Then the priest will take the basket from you. He will put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God.