Deuteronomy 23
Modern English Version
Exclusion From the Assembly
23 No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off may enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to his tenth generation no one related to him may enter the assembly of the Lord.
3 No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to their tenth generation they may not enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they refused you bread and water on the way, when you came from out of Egypt and because they hired Balaam, the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, against you to curse you. 5 Nevertheless, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam. Instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing on you because the Lord your God loves you. 6 You are not ever to seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days.
7 You are not to abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a foreigner in his land. 8 The children who are born of them may enter the assembly of the Lord in their third generation.
Uncleanness in the Camp
9 When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing. 10 If there be among you any man who is not clean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must leave the camp. He may not re-enter the camp. 11 And it must be that when evening comes, he must wash himself with water, and at sunset he may re-enter the camp.
12 You must also have a place outside the camp where one may go outside. 13 You must have a spade among your equipment, and it must be, when you relieve yourself outside, you must dig there and turn and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to defeat your enemies before you. Therefore, your camp must be holy, so that He does not see any indecent thing among you, and turn away from you.
Various Laws
15 You must not deliver back to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He is to dwell with you, even among you, in a place which he shall choose in one of your towns, where he prefers. You must not oppress him.
17 There must never be a cult prostitute among the daughters of Israel nor a cult prostitute among the sons of Israel. 18 You must never bring the wage of a prostitute or the wage of a dog into the house of the Lord your God for any vow, for both of these are abominations to the Lord your God.
19 You must not charge interest on a loan to your brother: interest on money, interest on food, or on anything that may be lent with interest. 20 You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your brother you may not lend with interest so 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 When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you must not be slow to pay it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be a sin to you. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, it will not be a sin to you. 23 That which goes out of your lips you must keep and do, even a freewill offering, just as you have vowed to the Lord your God, what you have promised with your mouth.
24 When you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat grapes to your fill at your own pleasure, but you may not put any in your basket. 25 When you enter into the standing grain of your neighbor, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you may not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.
Deuteronomy 23
Lexham English Bible
23 “No man with crushed testicles[a] or whose male organ is cut off[b] may come into the assembly of Yahweh.
2 An illegitimate child may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants[c] may come into the assembly of Yahweh.
3 An Ammonite or a Moabite may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants[d] may come into the assembly of Yahweh forever,[e] 4 because[f] they did not come to meet you with food and with water when you came out of Egypt,[g] and also because[h] they[i] hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor, in Aram Naharaim[j] to act against you to curse you. 5 But Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved you. 6 You shall not promote their welfare or their prosperity all your days forever.[k]
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, because he is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian because you were an alien in his land. 8 The children[l] that are born to them in the third generation may come representing them[m] in the assembly of Yahweh.
9 “If[n] you go out to encamp against your enemies, then you shall guard against doing anything evil.
10 “If there is among you a man that is not clean because of a seminal emission during the night,[o] he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come within the camp. 11 And then[p] toward the coming[q] of the evening, he shall bathe with[r] water, and at the going down[s] of the sun, he may come to the midst of the camp.
12 “And there shall be for you a designated place outside the camp; and you shall go there to relieve yourself,[t] 13 and a digging tool[u] shall be included in addition to your other utensils[v] for yourself; and then[w] when you relieve yourself[x] outside the camp you shall dig with it, and then you shall turn, and you shall cover your excrement. 14 For Yahweh your God is walking about in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to hand your enemies over to you before you,[y] and so let your camp be holy, so that he shall not see in it anything indecent,[z] and he shall turn away from going with you.[aa]
15 “And you shall not hand over a slave to his master who has escaped and fled to you from his master. 16 He shall reside with you in your midst in the place that he chooses in one of your towns wherever he pleases;[ab] you shall not oppress him.
17 “No woman of Israel[ac] shall be a temple prostitute, and no man of Israel[ad] shall be a male shrine prostitute. 18 You may not bring the hire[ae] of a prostitute or the earnings of a male prostitute[af] into the house of Yahweh your God, for any vow offerings, because both[ag] are a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.
19 “You shall not charge your brother interest on money,[ah] interest on[ai] food, or interest on[aj] anything that one could lend[ak] on interest. 20 You may lend on interest to the foreigner, but to your countryman[al] you may not lend on interest, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all your undertakings[am] in the land where you are going,[an] in order to take possession of it.[ao]
21 “When you make a vow[ap] to Yahweh your God, you shall not postpone fulfillment of it,[aq] for certainly Yahweh your God shall require it from you and if postponed you will incur guilt.[ar] 22 And if you refrain from vowing,[as] you shall not incur guilt.[at] 23 The utterance of your lips you must perform diligently[au] just as you have vowed freely to Yahweh your God whatever it was that you promised[av] with your mouth.
24 “When[aw] you come into the vineyard of your neighbor, then you may eat grapes as you please[ax] and until you are full,[ay] but you shall not put any into your container.
25 “When[az] you come into the standing grain of your neighbor, then you may pluck ears with your hand, but you may not swing[ba] a sickle among the standing grain of your neighbor.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:1 Literally “bruised of crushing”
- Deuteronomy 23:1 Literally “cut off of male organ”
- Deuteronomy 23:2 Literally “to him”
- Deuteronomy 23:3 Literally “to him”
- Deuteronomy 23:3 Literally “until eternity”
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Literally “because of the event when”
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Literally “at your going out of Egypt”
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Literally “because of the event when”
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Hebrew “he,” but with plural meaning
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Or “Mesopotamia” = “between the rivers”
- Deuteronomy 23:6 Literally “until eternity”
- Deuteronomy 23:8 Or “sons”
- Deuteronomy 23:8 Literally “for them” or possibly “become members of”
- Deuteronomy 23:9 Or “when”
- Deuteronomy 23:10 Literally “of the night”
- Deuteronomy 23:11 Literally “And it will happen/come about that”
- Deuteronomy 23:11 Literally “turning”
- Deuteronomy 23:11 Hebrew “in” but this is instrumental use of this preposition
- Deuteronomy 23:11 The verb can mean “coming/going” and here it means “going”
- Deuteronomy 23:12 Literally “and you shall go out there, outside to relieve yourself”
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Or “spade”
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Hebrew “utensil”
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Literally “and it will happen”
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Literally “at your sitting”
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Literally “to give your enemies to the face of you”
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Literally “nakedness of a thing”
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Literally “from behind/after you”
- Deuteronomy 23:16 Literally “in your gates good for him”
- Deuteronomy 23:17 Literally “from the daughters of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 23:17 Literally “from the sons of Israel”
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Literally “gift”
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Literally “the earnings of a dog”
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Literally “both, the two of them”
- Deuteronomy 23:19 Literally “You shall not lend on interest to your brother, interest of money”
- Deuteronomy 23:19 Hebrew “of”
- Deuteronomy 23:19 Hebrew “of”
- Deuteronomy 23:19 Or “can lend”
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Or “brother”
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Literally “in all the sendings out of your hand”
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Literally “the land that you are going there”
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Literally “to take possession”
- Deuteronomy 23:21 Literally “When/if you vow a vow”
- Deuteronomy 23:21 Literally “to fulfill it”
- Deuteronomy 23:21 Literally “it shall become against you as sin”
- Deuteronomy 23:22 Literally “if you refrain to make a vow”
- Deuteronomy 23:22 Literally “it shall not become against you as sin”
- Deuteronomy 23:23 Literally “you must observe and you shall do”
- Deuteronomy 23:23 Or “spoke”
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Or “If”
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Literally “according to your desire”
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Literally “to your satiation”
- Deuteronomy 23:25 Or “If”
- Deuteronomy 23:25 Literally “wave”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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