Deuteronomy 23:9-14
New English Translation
Purity in Personal Hygiene
9 When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure.[a] 10 If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission,[b] he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately. 11 When evening arrives he must wash himself with water, and then at sunset he may reenter the camp.
12 You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine.[c] 13 You must have a spade among your other equipment, and when you relieve yourself[d] outside you must dig a hole with the spade[e] and then turn and cover your excrement.[f] 14 For the Lord your God walks about in the middle of your camp to deliver you and defeat[g] your enemies for you. Therefore your camp should be holy, so that he does not see anything indecent[h] among you and turn away from you.
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- Deuteronomy 23:9 tn Heb “evil.” The context makes clear that this is a matter of ritual impurity, not moral impurity, so it is “evil” in the sense that it disbars one from certain religious activity.
- Deuteronomy 23:10 tn Heb “nocturnal happening.” The Hebrew term קָרֶה (qareh) merely means “to happen” so the phrase here is euphemistic (a “night happening”) for some kind of bodily emission such as excrement or semen. Such otherwise normal physical functions rendered one ritually unclean whether accidental or not. See Lev 15:16-18; 22:4.
- Deuteronomy 23:12 tn Heb “so that one may go outside there.” This expression is euphemistic.
- Deuteronomy 23:13 tn Heb “sit.” This expression is euphemistic.
- Deuteronomy 23:13 tn Heb “with it”; the referent (the spade mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Deuteronomy 23:13 tn Heb “what comes from you,” a euphemism.
- Deuteronomy 23:14 tn Heb “give [over] your enemies.”
- Deuteronomy 23:14 tn Heb “nakedness of a thing”; NLT “any shameful thing.” The expression עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (ʿervat davar) refers specifically to sexual organs and, by extension, to any function associated with them. There are some aspects of human life that are so personal and private that they ought not be publicly paraded. Cultically speaking, even God is offended by such impropriety (cf. Gen 9:22-23; Lev 18:6-12, 16-19; 20:11, 17-21). See B. Seevers, NIDOTTE 3:528-30.
Deuteronomy 23:9-14
Common English Bible
Rules for the war camp
9 When you are camped in battle against your enemies, guard yourself from every possible evil. 10 If an individual in the camp becomes polluted due to a nighttime emission, he must exit the camp area and not reenter. 11 When the next evening arrives, he must wash with water; and when the sun sets, he can come back to the camp.
12 The latrines[a] must be outside the camp. You will use them there, outside the camp. 13 Carry a shovel with the rest of your gear; once you have relieved yourself, use it to dig a hole, then refill it, covering your excrement.
14 Do these things because the Lord your God travels with you, right in the middle of your camp, ready to save you and to hand your enemies over to you. For this reason your camp must be holy. The Lord must not see anything indecent among you, or he will turn away from you.
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- Deuteronomy 23:12 LXX, Syr, Vulg place of the hand (a euphemism); MT has only hand.
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