Deu 23 | NASB2020 | STEP | “ No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off may enter the assembly of the Lord .

Deuteronomy 23

Persons Excluded from the Assembly

1 “ ^aNo one who is ^{▼▼Lit wounded by crushing of testicles}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 ^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. 5 Nevertheless, 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. 8 The 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.

10 “ ^oIf 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. 11 But 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, 13 and 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. 14 Since ^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.

15 “ ^xYou shall not hand over to his master a slave who has ^{▼▼Lit delivered himself}escaped from his master to you. 16 He 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.

17 “ ^abNone of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, ^acnor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute. 18 You 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.

19 “ ^afYou 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.

21 “ ^akWhen 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. 22 However, if you refrain from making vows, it will not be a sin ^{▼▼Lit in you}for you. 23 You 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.

25 “ ^arWhen 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.