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“If[a] you go out to encamp against your enemies, then you shall guard against doing anything evil.

10 “If there is among you a man that is not clean because of a seminal emission during the night,[b] he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come within the camp. 11 And then[c] toward the coming[d] of the evening, he shall bathe with[e] water, and at the going down[f] of the sun, he may come to the midst of the camp.

12 “And there shall be for you a designated place outside the camp; and you shall go there to relieve yourself,[g] 13 and a digging tool[h] shall be included in addition to your other utensils[i] for yourself; and then[j] when you relieve yourself[k] outside the camp you shall dig with it, and then you shall turn, and you shall cover your excrement. 14 For Yahweh your God is walking about in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to hand your enemies over to you before you,[l] and so let your camp be holy, so that he shall not see in it anything indecent,[m] and he shall turn away from going with you.[n]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:9 Or “when”
  2. Deuteronomy 23:10 Literally “of the night”
  3. Deuteronomy 23:11 Literally “And it will happen/come about that”
  4. Deuteronomy 23:11 Literally “turning”
  5. Deuteronomy 23:11 Hebrew “in” but this is instrumental use of this preposition
  6. Deuteronomy 23:11 The verb can mean “coming/going” and here it means “going”
  7. Deuteronomy 23:12 Literally “and you shall go out there, outside to relieve yourself
  8. Deuteronomy 23:13 Or “spade”
  9. Deuteronomy 23:13 Hebrew “utensil”
  10. Deuteronomy 23:13 Literally “and it will happen”
  11. Deuteronomy 23:13 Literally “at your sitting”
  12. Deuteronomy 23:14 Literally “to give your enemies to the face of you”
  13. Deuteronomy 23:14 Literally “nakedness of a thing”
  14. Deuteronomy 23:14 Literally “from behind/after you”

Miscellaneous Regulations

“When you go to war against your enemies, be sure to stay away from anything that is impure.

10 “Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a nocturnal emission must leave the camp and stay away all day. 11 Toward evening he must bathe himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.

12 “You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement. 14 The camp must be holy, for the Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you.

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