Deuteronomy 23

Living Bible

23 “If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis cut off, he shall not enter the sanctuary. ² A bastard may not enter the sanctuary, nor any of his descendants for ten generations.

³ “No Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the sanctuary, even after the tenth generation. ⁴ The reason for this law is that these nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt; they even tried to hire Balaam, the son of Beor from Pethor, Mesopotamia, to curse you. ⁵ But the Lord wouldn’t listen to Balaam; instead, he turned the intended curse into a blessing for you because the Lord loves you. ⁶ You must never, as long as you live, try to help the Ammonites or the Moabites in any way. ⁷ But don’t look down on the Edomites and the Egyptians; the Edomites are your brothers and you lived among the Egyptians. ⁸ The grandchildren of the Egyptians who came with you from Egypt may enter the sanctuary of the Lord.

^9-10 “When you are at war, the men in the camps must stay away from all evil. Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a seminal emission during the night must leave the camp ¹¹ and stay outside until the evening; then he shall bathe himself and return at sunset. ¹² The toilet area shall be outside the camp. ¹³ Each man must have a spade as part of his equipment; after every bowel movement he must dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement. ¹⁴ The camp must be holy, for the Lord walks among you to protect you and to cause your enemies to fall before you; and the Lord does not want to see anything indecent lest he turn away from you.

^15-16 “If a slave escapes from his master, you must not force him to return; let him live among you in whatever town he shall choose, and do not oppress him.

^17-18 “No prostitutes are permitted in Israel, either men or women; you must not bring to the Lord any offering from the earnings of a prostitute or a homosexual, for both are detestable to the Lord your God.

¹⁹ “Don’t demand interest on loans you make to a brother Israelite, whether it is in the form of money, food, or anything else. ²⁰ You may take interest from a foreigner, but not from an Israeli. For if you take interest from a brother, an Israeli, the Lord your God won’t bless you when you arrive in the Promised Land.

²¹ “When you make a vow to the Lord, be prompt in doing whatever it is you promised him, for the Lord demands that you promptly fulfill your vows; it is a sin if you don’t. ²² (But it is not a sin if you refrain from vowing!) ²³ Once you make the vow, you must be careful to do as you have said, for it was your own choice, and you have vowed to the Lord your God.

²⁴ “You may eat your fill of the grapes from another man’s vineyard, but do not take any away in a container. ²⁵ It is the same with someone else’s grain—you may eat a few handfuls of it, but don’t use a sickle.