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
New King James Version
Those Excluded from the Congregation
23 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall (A)not enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 “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.
3 (B)“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, 4 (C)because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and (D)because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of [a]Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 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 (E)loves you. 6 (F)You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, (G)for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because (H)you were an alien in his land. 8 The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Cleanliness of the Campsite
9 “When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing. 10 (I)If there is any man among you who becomes unclean by some occurrence in the night, then he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come inside the camp. 11 But it shall be, when evening comes, that (J)he shall wash with water; and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp.
12 “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; 13 and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. 14 For the Lord your God (K)walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 (L)“You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it [b]seems best to him; (M)you shall not oppress him.
17 “There shall be no ritual [c]harlot (N)of the daughters of Israel, or a (O)perverted[d] one of the sons of Israel. 18 You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the Lord your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are [e]an abomination to the Lord your God.
19 (P)“You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest. 20 (Q)To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, (R)that the Lord your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.
21 (S)“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. 23 (T)That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
24 “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container. 25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, (U)you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Heb. Aram Naharaim
- Deuteronomy 23:16 pleases him best
- Deuteronomy 23:17 Heb. qedeshah, fem. of qadesh (next note)
- Deuteronomy 23:17 Heb. qadesh, one practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals
- Deuteronomy 23:18 detestable
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
