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Sanitary, Ritual, and Humanitarian Precepts

“When you are encamped against your enemies, you shall guard against every evil thing.

10 “If one of you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp; he must not come within the camp. 11 When evening comes, he shall wash himself with water, and when the sun has set, he may come back into the camp.

12 “You shall have a designated area outside the camp to which you shall go. 13 With your tools you shall have a trowel; when you relieve yourself outside, you shall dig a hole with it and then cover up your excrement. 14 Because the Lord your God travels along with your camp, to save you and to hand over your enemies to you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

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Rules for the war camp

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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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:12 LXX, Syr, Vulg place of the hand (a euphemism); MT has only hand.