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Deuteronomy 23
New Catholic Bible
Deuteronomy 23
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 23
1 A man shall not marry his father’s wife; he is not to dishonor his father’s bed.[a]
Membership Exclusions. 2 No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting can enter the assembly of the Lord.[b] 3 No one who is illegitimate[c] can enter the assembly of the Lord, nor can his descendants to the tenth generation enter the assembly of the Lord. 4 No Ammonite or Moabite can enter the assembly of the Lord, even their descendants to the tenth generation cannot enter the assembly of the Lord 5 for they did not greet you with bread and water as you were on your way when you came forth out of Egypt. They hired Balaam, the son of Beor who came from Pethor in Mesopotamia to curse you. 6 However, the Lord, your God, would not listen to Balaam. The Lord, your God, turned a curse upon you into a blessing, for the Lord, your God, loved you. 7 Do not establish a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.
8 Do not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not detest an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner in his land. 9 The third generation of children born to them can enter the assembly of the Lord.
10 Camp Sanitation. When you are encamped against your enemies, stay away from everything that is impure. 11 If one of your men among you is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, let him move outside of the camp. He is not to enter the camp. 12 When evening arrives, he is to wash himself with water, and he can come back inside of the camp.
13 Designate a place outside of the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 14 You shall have an implement with your equipment so that when you relieve yourself, you can dig a hole and cover over your excrement.
15 The Lord, your God, walks among you in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies up to you, so your camp must be holy, lest he see something unclean among you and turn away from you.
16 Incidental Rules. If a slave has taken refuge from his master with you, you are not to hand him over to his master. 17 Let him live with you wherever he chooses, in whatever town he chooses. You are not to oppress him.
18 No Israelite woman is to become a sacred prostitute, nor is an Israelite man to be a sacred prostitute. 19 You are not to bring the wages of a female prostitute or a male prostitute[d] into the shrine of the Lord, your God, to pay for any vow. Both of these are abominations to the Lord, your God.
20 [e]Do not charge your brother interest, whether it be on money or food or anything else that could earn interest. 21 You can charge a foreigner interest, but you cannot charge a brother interest. For this you will be blessed by the Lord, your God, in everything that you undertake in the land that you are entering to possess.
22 If you make a vow to the Lord, your God, do not be lax in paying it off, for the Lord, your God, will certainly require it of you, and you would be guilty of a sin. 23 But if you fail to make a vow, there is no sin. 24 Whatever your lips utter, you must do, for you have vowed a freewill offering to the Lord, your God, with your own mouth.
25 If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you can eat as many grapes as you want, but you are not to put any in a basket. 26 If you enter your neighbor’s grain fields, you can pluck the kernels with your hands, but you are not to take a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:1 Dishonor his father’s bed: literally, “lift the hem of his father’s blanket.” “To stretch the hem (of a blanket)” over a woman meant to marry her; “to lift the hem (of the blanket)” meant to attack the conjugal rights of another over a woman.
- Deuteronomy 23:2 According to some scholars, this mutilation may have indicated that person now belonged to a Canaanite divinity.
- Deuteronomy 23:3 One who is illegitimate: a person who had a foreigner for one of his parents.
- Deuteronomy 23:19 Male prostitute: probably in a pagan temple.
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Charging interest on a loan was regarded as usury down to modern times.
Deuteronomy 23
New International Version
Deuteronomy 23
New International Version
Exclusion From the Assembly
23 [a]No one who has been emasculated(A) by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 No one born of a forbidden marriage[b] nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.
3 No Ammonite(B) or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.(C) 4 For they did not come to meet you with bread and water(D) on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam(E) son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim[c](F) to pronounce a curse on you.(G) 5 However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse(H) into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves(I) you. 6 Do not seek a treaty(J) of friendship with them as long as you live.(K)
7 Do not despise an Edomite,(L) for the Edomites are related to you.(M) Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country.(N) 8 The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Uncleanness in the Camp
9 When you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure.(O) 10 If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there.(P) 11 But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset(Q) he may return to the camp.(R)
12 Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God moves(S) about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy,(T) so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 If a slave has taken refuge(U) with you, do not hand them over to their master.(V) 16 Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress(W) them.
17 No Israelite man(X) or woman is to become a shrine prostitute.(Y) 18 You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute[d] into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.(Z)
19 Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest.(AA) 20 You may charge a foreigner(AB) interest, but not a fellow Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless(AC) you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.
21 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it,(AD) for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.(AE) 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty.(AF) 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.
24 If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. 25 If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.(AG)
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:1 In Hebrew texts 23:1-25 is numbered 23:2-26.
- Deuteronomy 23:2 Or one of illegitimate birth
- Deuteronomy 23:4 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Hebrew of a dog
Deuteronomy 23
King James Version
Deuteronomy 23
King James Version
23 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.
2 A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord.
3 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:
4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
5 Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee.
6 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.
8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord in their third generation.
9 When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
11 But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:
14 For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:
16 He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God.
19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
20 Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.
22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.
23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
24 When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.
New International Version (NIV) 
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