Deuteronomy 23:1-8
New American Standard Bible
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. 2 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. 3 (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, 4 (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. 5 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. 6 (G)You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.
7 “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. 8 The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
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- Deuteronomy 23:1 Lit wounded by crushing of testicles
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Lit bread
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Heb Aram-naharaim
- Deuteronomy 23:7 I.e., a descendant of Esau
Deuteronomy 23:1-8
New Living Translation
Regulations concerning Worship
23 [a]“If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
2 “If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. 4 These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram-naharaim to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the Lord your God loves you. 6 As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.
7 “Do not detest the Edomites or the Egyptians, because the Edomites are your relatives and you lived as foreigners among the Egyptians. 8 The third generation of Edomites and Egyptians may enter the assembly of the Lord.
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- 23:1 Verses 23:1-25 are numbered 23:2-26 in Hebrew text.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
