Deuteronomy 23

Modern

Literal

Exclusion from the Congregation

¹No man with crushed or severed genitals may enter the assembly of the LORD.

¹One bruised by crushing or severing the genitals shall not enter into the assembly of YHWH.

²No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the LORD, nor may any of his descendants, even to the tenth generation.

²One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of YHWH—even to the tenth generation none shall enter of his seed into the assembly of YHWH.

³No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.

³An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of YHWH; even to the tenth generation none shall enter the assembly of YHWH, even to the age,

⁴For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim^a to curse you.

⁴on account of the matter that they did not meet you with the bread and with the water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim, to curse you.

⁵Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.

⁵And YHWH your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and YHWH your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because YHWH your God loves you.

⁶You are not to seek peace or prosperity from them as long as you live.

⁶You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days, forever.

⁷Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.

⁷You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land.

⁸The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

⁸The sons who are begotten to them, the third generation, may enter into the assembly of YHWH.

Uncleanness in the Camp

⁹When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every wicked thing.

⁹When a camp goes out against your enemies, keep yourself from every wicked thing.

¹⁰If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he must leave the camp and stay outside.

¹⁰If there is any man among you who is not clean by some occurrence in the night, he shall go to the outside of the camp; he shall not come in to the midst of the camp.

¹¹When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may return to the camp.

¹¹And it shall come to pass at the turning of the evening that he shall wash with the water, and at the going in of the sun he may come in to the midst of the camp.

¹²You must have a place outside the camp to go and relieve yourself.

¹²And a place shall be for you outside of the camp, and you may go there outside.

¹³And you must have a digging tool in your equipment so that when you relieve yourself you can dig a hole and cover up your excrement.

¹³And an implement shall be unto you among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover up your filth.

¹⁴For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, lest He see anything unclean among you and turn away from you.

¹⁴For YHWH your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to give over your enemies to your faces, and your camp shall be holy, that He may see in you no unclean thing and turn away from you.

Miscellaneous Laws

¹⁵Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you.

¹⁵You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped to you from his master.

¹⁶Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.

¹⁶He will dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he chooses, within one of your gates, where it is pleasing to him. You shall not oppress him.

¹⁷No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.

¹⁷There shall not be a prostitute among the daughters of Israel, nor shall there be a shrine prostitute from the sons of Israel.

¹⁸You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male,^a into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.

¹⁸You shall not bring the wage of a prostitute or the price of a dog into the house of YHWH your God for any vowed offering; for both of them are indeed an abomination to YHWH your God.

¹⁹Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.

¹⁹Do not lend in usury to your brother—usury of silver, usury of food, usury of anything that is lent on usury.

²⁰You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything to which you put your hand in the land that you are entering to possess.

²⁰To a foreigner you may lend in usury, and to your brother you may not lend in usury, so that YHWH your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land that you are entering to possess.

²¹If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

²¹When you make a vow to YHWH your God, you shall not delay to pay it. For YHWH your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin in you.

²²But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin.

²²But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin in you.

²³Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.

²³That which has gone out of your lips you shall keep and perform, as you vowed to YHWH your God voluntarily what you have spoken with your mouth.

²⁴When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not put any in your basket.

²⁴When you come to the vineyard of your neighbor, you may eat grapes according to your desire, your sufficiency. And into your vessel you shall not put any.

²⁵When you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.

²⁵When you come into the standing grain of your neighbor, you may pluck the heads with your hand, and a sickle you shall not use on the standing grain of your neighbor.