Deuteronomy 23
Legacy Standard Bible
Those Who May Not Enter the Assembly
23 “(A)No one who is [a]emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of Yahweh. 2 No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation, none of his seed shall enter the assembly of Yahweh. 3 (B)No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation, none of their seed shall ever enter the assembly of Yahweh, 4 (C)because they did not meet you with [b]food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you (D)Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of [c]Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless, Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but Yahweh your God (E)turned the curse into a blessing for you because Yahweh your God (F)loves you. 6 (G)You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for (H)he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian, (I)for you were a sojourner in his land. 8 The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of Yahweh.
9 “When you go out as [d]an army against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10 “(J)If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not [e]reenter the camp. 11 But it shall be when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may [f]reenter the camp.
12 “You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, 13 and you shall have a [g]spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn [h]to cover up your excrement. 14 Since (K)Yahweh your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to give your enemies over to you, therefore your camp must be (L)holy; and He must not see [i]anything indecent among you, [j]or He will turn away from you.
15 “(M)You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has [k]escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall live with you in your midst, in the place which he shall choose in one of your gates of the towns where it pleases him; (N)you shall not mistreat him.
17 “(O)None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, (P)nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a [l](Q)dog into the house of Yahweh your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to Yahweh your God.
19 “(R)You shall not charge interest to your brother: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. 20 (S)You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, so that (T)Yahweh your God may bless you in all [m]that you send forth your hand to do in the land which you are about to enter to [n]possess.
21 “(U)When you make a vow to Yahweh your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you; and it will be a sin in you. 22 However, if you refrain from vowing, it will not be a sin in you. 23 You shall be careful and do what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to Yahweh your God that which you spoke with your mouth.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes [o]until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your [p]basket.
25 “(V)When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:1 Lit wounded by crushing of testicles
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Lit bread
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Heb Aram-naharaim
- Deuteronomy 23:9 Or a camp
- Deuteronomy 23:10 Lit come to the midst of
- Deuteronomy 23:11 Lit come to the midst of
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Lit peg
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Lit and
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Lit nakedness of anything
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Lit and
- Deuteronomy 23:15 Lit delivered himself
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Male prostitute, sodomite
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Lit the putting forth of your hand
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Lit according to your satisfaction of your soul
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Or vessel
Deuteronomy 23
Christian Standard Bible
Exclusion and Inclusion
23 “No man whose testicles have been crushed or whose penis has been cut off may enter the Lord’s assembly. 2 No one of illegitimate birth may enter the Lord’s assembly; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter the Lord’s assembly. 3 No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the Lord’s assembly;(A) none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the Lord’s assembly. 4 This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt, and because Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim was hired to curse you.(B) 5 Yet the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but he turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves(C) you.(D) 6 Never pursue their welfare or prosperity as long as you live. 7 Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you were a resident alien in his land. 8 The children born to them in the third generation may enter the Lord’s assembly.
Cleanliness of the Camp
9 “When you are encamped against your enemies, be careful to avoid anything offensive. 10 If there is a man among you who is unclean because of a bodily emission during the night, he must go outside the camp; he may not come anywhere inside the camp. 11 When evening approaches, he is to wash with water, and when the sun sets he may come inside the camp.(E) 12 You are to have a place outside the camp and go there to relieve yourself. 13 You are to have a digging tool in your equipment; when you relieve yourself, dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything indecent among you or he will turn away from you.
Fugitive Slaves
15 “Do not return a slave to his master when he has escaped from his master to you. 16 Let him live among you wherever he wants within your city gates. Do not mistreat him.
Cult Prostitution Forbidden
17 “No Israelite woman is to be a cult prostitute, and no Israelite man is to be a cult prostitute. 18 Do not bring a female prostitute’s wages or a male prostitute’s[a] earnings into the house of the Lord your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the Lord your God.
Interest on Loans
19 “Do not charge your brother interest on silver, food, or anything that can earn interest. 20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but you must not charge your brother Israelite interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do[b] in the land you are entering to possess.(F)
Keeping Vows
21 “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to keep it, because he will require it of you, and it will be counted against you as sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, it will not be counted against you as sin. 23 Be careful to do whatever comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed what you promised to the Lord your God.(G)
Neighbor’s Crops
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you want until you are full, but do not put any in your container. 25 When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck heads of grain with your hand, but do not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.
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