Persons Excluded from the Assembly

23 (A)No one who is [a]emasculated or has his male organ cut off may enter the assembly of the Lord. No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter the assembly of the Lord. (B)No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the assembly of the Lord, (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. Nevertheless, the Lord your God was unwilling to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God (E)turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God (F)loves you. (G)You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.

“You shall not loathe an [d]Edomite, for (H)he is your brother; you shall not loathe an Egyptian, (I)because you were a stranger in his land. The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.

“When you go out as [e]an army against your enemies, you shall be on guard against 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 [f]reenter the camp. 11 But when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may [g]reenter the camp.

12 “You shall also have a place allocated outside the camp, so that you may go out there to relieve yourself, 13 and you shall have a [h]spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn and cover up your excrement. 14 Since (K)the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to save you and to [i]defeat your enemies before you, your camp must be (L)holy; so He must not see [j]anything indecent among you [k]or He will turn away from you.

15 (M)You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has [l]escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall live with you in your midst, in the place that he chooses in one of your [m]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 earnings of a prostitute or the money for a [n](Q)dog into the house of the Lord your God as payment for any vowed offering, because both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.

19 (R)You are not to charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned on interest. 20 (S)You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that (T)the Lord your God may bless you in all [o]that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to [p]possess.

21 (U)When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly require it of you, and it will be a sin [q]for you. 22 However, if you refrain from making vows, it will not be a sin [r]for you. 23 You shall be careful and perform what goes out of your lips, since in fact you have vowed a [s]voluntary offering to the Lord your God, whatever you have [t]promised.

24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat grapes [u]until you are satisfied; but you are not to put any in your [v]basket.

25 (V)When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you are not to [w]use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:1 Lit wounded by crushing of testicles
  2. Deuteronomy 23:4 Lit bread
  3. Deuteronomy 23:4 Heb Aram-naharaim
  4. Deuteronomy 23:7 I.e., a descendant of Esau
  5. Deuteronomy 23:9 Or a camp
  6. Deuteronomy 23:10 Lit come to the midst of
  7. Deuteronomy 23:11 Lit come to the midst of
  8. Deuteronomy 23:13 Lit peg
  9. Deuteronomy 23:14 Lit give
  10. Deuteronomy 23:14 Lit nakedness of anything
  11. Deuteronomy 23:14 Lit and
  12. Deuteronomy 23:15 Lit delivered himself
  13. Deuteronomy 23:16 Lit gates in the good to him
  14. Deuteronomy 23:18 Prob. refers to a male prostitute
  15. Deuteronomy 23:20 Lit the putting forth of your hand
  16. Deuteronomy 23:20 Lit possess it
  17. Deuteronomy 23:21 Lit in you
  18. Deuteronomy 23:22 Lit in you
  19. Deuteronomy 23:23 Or freewill offering
  20. Deuteronomy 23:23 Lit spoken with your mouth
  21. Deuteronomy 23:24 Lit according to your soul, your satiation
  22. Deuteronomy 23:24 Lit container
  23. Deuteronomy 23:25 Lit brandish

23 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of Jehovah for ever: 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 from Pethor of [a]Mesopotamia, to curse thee. Nevertheless Jehovah thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but Jehovah thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because Jehovah thy God loved thee. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a sojourner in his land. The children of the third generation that are born unto them shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

When thou goest forth in camp against thine enemies, then thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing. 10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of that which 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 bathe himself in water; and when the sun is down, he shall come within the camp. 12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: 13 and thou shalt have a [b]paddle among thy weapons; and it shall be, when thou sittest down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: 14 for Jehovah 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 may not see [c]an unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a servant that is escaped from his master unto thee: 16 he shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him.

17 There shall be no [d]prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a [e]sodomite of the sons of Israel. 18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the wages of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.

19 Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest. 20 Unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest, that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thy hand unto, in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.

21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah 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 observe and do; according as thou hast vowed unto Jehovah thy God, a freewill-offering, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

24 When thou comest into thy neighbor’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat of grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel. 25 When thou comest into thy neighbor’s standing grain, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor’s standing grain.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:4 Hebrew Aram-naharaim.
  2. Deuteronomy 23:13 Or, shovel
  3. Deuteronomy 23:14 Hebrew nakedness of anything.
  4. Deuteronomy 23:17 Hebrew kedeshah. See Gen. 38:21.
  5. Deuteronomy 23:17 Hebrew kadesh.