Deuteronomy 23:1-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Those Excluded from the Assembly
23 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall come into the assembly of the Lord.
2 “Those born of an illicit union shall not come into the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall come into the assembly of the Lord.
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite shall come into the assembly of the Lord even to the tenth generation. None of their descendants shall come into the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey out of Egypt and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 (Yet the Lord your God refused to heed Balaam; the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you.) 6 You shall never promote their welfare or their prosperity as long as you live.
7 “You shall not abhor any of the Edomites, for they are your kin. You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians, because you were an alien residing in their land. 8 The children of the third generation that are born to them may come into the assembly of the Lord.
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Deuteronomy 23:1-8
International Standard Version
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. 2 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. 3 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, 4 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. 5 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. 6 Don’t seek a peace treaty with them as long as you live. 7 Don’t detest Edomites, since they are related to you. Don’t detest Egyptians, either, because you were strangers in their land. 8 Their grandchildren[e] may participate in the assembly of the Lord.”
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- Deuteronomy 23:1 This v. is 2 in MT, and so throughout the chapter.
- Deuteronomy 23:1 Or wounded
- Deuteronomy 23:4 I.e. Mesopotamia
- Deuteronomy 23:5 Lit. his
- Deuteronomy 23:8 Lit. Children born in the third generation
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