30 (A)“A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor (B)uncover his father’s bed.

Those Excluded from the Congregation

23 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall (C)not enter the assembly of the Lord.

“One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord.

(D)“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever, (E)because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and (F)because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of [a]Mesopotamia, to curse you. Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God (G)loves you. (H)You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.

“You shall not abhor an Edomite, (I)for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because (J)you were an alien in his land. The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:4 Heb. Aram Naharaim

30 A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not dishonor his father’s bed.[a](A)

Exclusion From the Assembly

23 [b]No one who has been emasculated(B) by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.

No one born of a forbidden marriage[c] nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.

No Ammonite(C) or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.(D) For they did not come to meet you with bread and water(E) on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam(F) son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim[d](G) to pronounce a curse on you.(H) However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse(I) into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves(J) you. Do not seek a treaty(K) of friendship with them as long as you live.(L)

Do not despise an Edomite,(M) for the Edomites are related to you.(N) Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country.(O) The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 22:30 In Hebrew texts this verse (22:30) is numbered 23:1.
  2. Deuteronomy 23:1 In Hebrew texts 23:1-25 is numbered 23:2-26.
  3. Deuteronomy 23:2 Or one of illegitimate birth
  4. Deuteronomy 23:4 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia