Exclusion and Inclusion

23 “No man whose testicles have been crushed[a] or whose penis has been cut off may enter the Lord’s assembly. 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. 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. 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) 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) Never seek their peace or prosperity as long as you live. Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you were a foreign resident in his land. The children born to them in the third generation may enter the Lord’s assembly.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:1 Lit man bruised by crushing

Qualifications for Assembling

23 [a]“No man whose testicles have been crushed[b] or whose penis has been cut off may participate in the assembly of the Lord. Furthermore, no one born due to an illicit sexual relationship may participate in the assembly of the Lord, including his descendants to the tenth generation. No Ammonite or Moabite may participate in the assembly of the Lord, and none of their descendants is to be admitted to the assembly of the Lord, to the tenth generation, because they didn’t come to meet you with food and water along the way as you were coming out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Beor’s son Balaam from Pethor in Aram-naharaim[c] to curse you. However, the Lord your God didn’t listen to Balaam. The Lord your God turned Balaam’s[d] curse into a blessing, because the Lord your God loves you. Don’t seek a peace treaty with them as long as you live. Don’t detest Edomites, since they are related to you. Don’t detest Egyptians, either, because you were strangers in their land. Their grandchildren[e] may participate in the assembly of the Lord.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:1 This v. is 2 in MT, and so throughout the chapter.
  2. Deuteronomy 23:1 Or wounded
  3. Deuteronomy 23:4 I.e. Mesopotamia
  4. Deuteronomy 23:5 Lit. his
  5. Deuteronomy 23:8 Lit. Children born in the third generation