Deuteronomy 23

English Standard Version

Those Excluded from the Assembly

23 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.

²^(A)“No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.

³^(B)“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, ⁴^(C)because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they ^(D)hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of ^(E)Mesopotamia, to curse you. ⁵But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned ^(F)the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. ⁶You ^(G)shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

⁷“You shall not abhor an Edomite, for ^(H)he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because ^(I)you were a sojourner in his land. ⁸Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Uncleanness in the Camp

⁹“When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

¹⁰“If any man among you becomes ^(J)unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, ¹¹but when evening comes, he shall ^(K)bathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.

¹²“You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. ¹³And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. ¹⁴Because ^(L)the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

Miscellaneous Laws

¹⁵^(M)“You shall not give up to his master a slave^[a] who has escaped from his master to you. ¹⁶He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.

¹⁷“None of the ^(N)daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none ^(O)of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. ¹⁸You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog^[b] into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.

¹⁹^(P)“You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, ^(Q)interest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. ²⁰^(R)You may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, ^(S)that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

²¹^(T)“If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. ²²But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. ²³You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.

²⁴“If you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. ²⁵If you go into your neighbor's standing grain, ^(U)you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor's standing grain.

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 23:15 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface)
Deuteronomy 23:18 Or male prostitute

Devarim 23

Orthodox Jewish Bible

23 He that is wounded in the testicles, or hath a severed organ, shall not enter into the Kahal Hashem.

²⁽³⁾A mamzer shall not enter into the Kahal Hashem; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the Kahal Hashem.

³⁽⁴⁾An Amoni or Moavi shall not enter into the Kahal Hashem; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the Kahal Hashem ad olam;

⁴⁽⁵⁾Because they met you not with lechem and with mayim in the way, when ye came forth out of Mitzrayim; and because they hired against thee Balaam ben Beor from Petor in Aram Naharaim, to curse thee.

⁵⁽⁶⁾Nevertheless Hashem Eloheicha would not give heed unto Balaam; but Hashem Eloheicha turned the kelalah into a brocha unto thee, because Hashem Eloheicha loved thee.

⁶⁽⁷⁾Thou shalt not seek their shalom nor their tovat all thy yamim l’olam.

⁷⁽⁸⁾Thou shalt not abhor an Edomi; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor a Mitzri (an Egyptian); because thou wast a ger in his land.

⁸⁽⁹⁾The banim that are begotten of them shall enter into the Kahal Hashem in their third generation.

⁹⁽¹⁰⁾When the machaneh (camp) goeth forth against thine enemies, then be shomer over thee against every wicked thing.

¹⁰⁽¹¹⁾If there be among you any ish, that is not tahor (clean) by reason of a nocturnal occurrence, then shall he go outside the machaneh, he shall not come within the machaneh;

¹¹⁽¹²⁾But it shall be, when erev cometh on, he shall wash himself with mayim; and when the shemesh is down, he shall come into the machaneh again.

¹²⁽¹³⁾Thou shalt have a place also outside the machaneh, whither thou shalt go forth outside;

¹³⁽¹⁴⁾And thou shalt have a shovel in addition to thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt relieve thyself outside, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

¹⁴⁽¹⁵⁾For Hashem Eloheicha walketh in the midst of thy machaneh, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy machaneh be kadosh; that He see no ervat davar (shameful thing) in thee, and turn away from thee.

¹⁵⁽¹⁶⁾Thou shalt not give back unto his adon the eved which is rescued from his adon unto thee [see PM]:

¹⁶⁽¹⁷⁾He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy she’arim, where it pleases him best; thou shalt not oppress him.

¹⁷⁽¹⁸⁾There shall be no kedeshah (ritual prostitute) of the banot Yisroel, nor a kadesh (sodomite ritual prostitute) of the bnei Yisroel.

¹⁸⁽¹⁹⁾Thou shalt not bring the hire of a zonah, or the price of a kelev (male prostitute), into the Bais Hashem Eloheicha for any neder; for even both of these are to’avat Hashem Eloheicha.

¹⁹⁽²⁰⁾Thou shalt not lend upon neshekh (interest) to thy brother; neshekh of kesef, neshekh of okhel, neshekh of any thing that is lent upon neshekh;

²⁰⁽²¹⁾Unto a nokhri thou mayest lend upon neshekh; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon neshekh; that Hashem Eloheicha may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in ha’aretz whither thou goest to possess it.

²¹⁽²²⁾When thou shalt vow a neder unto Hashem Eloheicha, thou shalt not delay to pay it; for Hashem Eloheicha will surely require it of thee; and it would be chet (sin) in thee.

²²⁽²³⁾But if thou shalt abstain from vowing, it shall be no chet in thee.

²³⁽²⁴⁾That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt be shomer over and perform; even a vow thou hast voluntarily vowed unto Hashem Eloheicha, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

²⁴⁽²⁵⁾When thou comest into thy neighbor’s kerem (vineyard), then thou mayest eat thy fill of grapes at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.

²⁵⁽²⁶⁾When thou comest into the standing grain of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine yad; but thou shalt not use a sickle unto thy neighbor’s standing grain [see Mt 12:1; Mk 2:23; Lk 6:1 on the fact that where the Spirit of the L-rd is, there is liberty.T.N.].

English Standard Version (ESV)

Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

Deuteronomy 23 English Standard Version