Deuteronomy 23

Persons Excluded from the Assembly

1aNo one who is
Lit wounded by crushing of testicles
emasculated or has his male organ cut off may enter the assembly of the Lord.
2No 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 cNo 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 dbecause they did not meet you with
Lit bread
food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you fBalaam the son of Beor from Pethor of
Heb Aram-naharaim
Mesopotamia, to curse you.
5Nevertheless, the Lord your God was unwilling to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God hturned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God iloves you. 6 jYou shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.

7 “You shall not loathe an
I.e., a descendant of Esau
Edomite, for lhe is your brother; you shall not loathe an Egyptian, mbecause you were a stranger in his land.
8The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.

9 “When you go out as
Or a camp
an army against your enemies, you shall be on guard against every evil thing.

10oIf there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not
Lit come to the midst of
reenter the camp.
11But when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may
Lit come to the midst of
reenter the camp.

12 “You shall also have a place allocated outside the camp, so that you may go out there to relieve yourself, 13and you shall have a
Lit peg
spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn and cover up your excrement.
14Since sthe Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to save you and to
Lit give
defeat your enemies before you, your camp must be uholy; so He must not see
Lit nakedness of anything
anything indecent among you
Lit and
or He will turn away from you.

15xYou shall not hand over to his master a slave who has
Lit delivered himself
escaped from his master to you.
16He shall live with you in your midst, in the place that he chooses in one of your
Lit gates in the good to him
towns where it pleases him; aayou shall not mistreat him.

17abNone of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, acnor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute. 18You shall not bring the earnings of a prostitute or the money for a
Prob. refers to a male prostitute
,
aedog into the house of the Lord your God as payment for any vowed offering, because both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.

19afYou are not to charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned on interest. 20 agYou may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that ahthe Lord your God may bless you in all
Lit the putting forth of your hand
that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to
Lit possess it
possess.

21akWhen you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly require it of you, and it will be a sin
Lit in you
for you.
22However, if you refrain from making vows, it will not be a sin
Lit in you
for you.
23You shall be careful and perform what goes out of your lips, since in fact you have vowed a
Or freewill offering
voluntary offering to the Lord your God, whatever you have
Lit spoken with your mouth
promised.

24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat grapes
Lit according to your soul, your satiation
until you are satisfied; but you are not to put any in your
Lit container
basket.

25arWhen you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you are not to
Lit brandish
use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.

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