Deuteronomy 23
New King James Version
Those Excluded from the Congregation
23 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall (A)not enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
3 (B)“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever, 4 (C)because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and (D)because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of [a]Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God (E)loves you. 6 (F)You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, (G)for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because (H)you were an alien in his land. 8 The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Cleanliness of the Campsite
9 “When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing. 10 (I)If there is any man among you who becomes unclean by some occurrence in the night, then he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come inside the camp. 11 But it shall be, when evening comes, that (J)he shall wash with water; and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp.
12 “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; 13 and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. 14 For the Lord your God (K)walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 (L)“You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it [b]seems best to him; (M)you shall not oppress him.
17 “There shall be no ritual [c]harlot (N)of the daughters of Israel, or a (O)perverted[d] one of the sons of Israel. 18 You shall not bring the wages of a harlot or the price of a dog to the house of the Lord your God for any vowed offering, for both of these are [e]an abomination to the Lord your God.
19 (P)“You shall not charge interest to your brother—interest on money or food or anything that is lent out at interest. 20 (Q)To a foreigner you may charge interest, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, (R)that the Lord your God may bless you in all to which you set your hand in the land which you are entering to possess.
21 (S)“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. 22 But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you. 23 (T)That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
24 “When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes at your pleasure, but you shall not put any in your container. 25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, (U)you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Heb. Aram Naharaim
- Deuteronomy 23:16 pleases him best
- Deuteronomy 23:17 Heb. qedeshah, fem. of qadesh (next note)
- Deuteronomy 23:17 Heb. qadesh, one practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals
- Deuteronomy 23:18 detestable
Deuteronomy 23
New American Standard Bible
Persons Excluded from the Assembly
23 “(A)No one who is [a]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 (B)No 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 (C)because they did not meet you with [b]food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you (D)Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of [c]Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless, the Lord your God was unwilling to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God (E)turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God (F)loves you. 6 (G)You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.
7 “You shall not loathe an [d]Edomite, for (H)he is your brother; you shall not loathe an Egyptian, (I)because 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 [e]an army against your enemies, you shall be on guard against every evil thing.
10 “(J)If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not [f]reenter the camp. 11 But when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may [g]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 [h]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 (K)the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to save you and to [i]defeat your enemies before you, your camp must be (L)holy; so He must not see [j]anything indecent among you [k]or He will turn away from you.
15 “(M)You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has [l]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 [m]towns where it pleases him; (N)you shall not mistreat him.
17 “(O)None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, (P)nor 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 [n](Q)dog 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 “(R)You are not to charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned on interest. 20 (S)You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that (T)the Lord your God may bless you in all [o]that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to [p]possess.
21 “(U)When 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 [q]for you. 22 However, if you refrain from making vows, it will not be a sin [r]for you. 23 You shall be careful and perform what goes out of your lips, since in fact you have vowed a [s]voluntary offering to the Lord your God, whatever you have [t]promised.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat grapes [u]until you are satisfied; but you are not to put any in your [v]basket.
25 “(V)When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you are not to [w]use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:1 Lit wounded by crushing of testicles
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Lit bread
- Deuteronomy 23:4 Heb Aram-naharaim
- Deuteronomy 23:7 I.e., a descendant of Esau
- Deuteronomy 23:9 Or a camp
- Deuteronomy 23:10 Lit come to the midst of
- Deuteronomy 23:11 Lit come to the midst of
- Deuteronomy 23:13 Lit peg
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Lit give
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Lit nakedness of anything
- Deuteronomy 23:14 Lit and
- Deuteronomy 23:15 Lit delivered himself
- Deuteronomy 23:16 Lit gates in the good to him
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Prob. refers to a male prostitute
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Lit the putting forth of your hand
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 23:21 Lit in you
- Deuteronomy 23:22 Lit in you
- Deuteronomy 23:23 Or freewill offering
- Deuteronomy 23:23 Lit spoken with your mouth
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Lit according to your soul, your satiation
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Lit container
- Deuteronomy 23:25 Lit brandish
Deuteronomy 23
Amplified Bible
Persons Excluded from the Assembly
23 “He who has been castrated by having his testicles crushed or his male organ cut off shall not enter the congregation of the Lord. 2 A person of [a]illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation. 3 An Ammonite or [b]Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord, 4 because they did not meet you with bread (food) and water on the road as you came out of Egypt, and because they hired [to act] against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless, the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God has loved you. 6 You shall never seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days.
7 “You shall not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother [Esau’s descendant]. You shall not detest an Egyptian, because you were a stranger (resident alien, foreigner) in his land. 8 Their children of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
9 “When you go out as an army [to fight] against your enemies, you shall keep yourselves from every evil [thing].
10 “If there is any man among you who is [ceremonially] unclean because of nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he shall not come back to the camp. 11 But when evening comes, he shall bathe in water, and at sundown he may return to the camp.
12 “You shall also have a place outside the camp to which you may go, 13 and you shall have a spade among your tools, and when you [prepare to] sit down outside [to relieve yourself], you shall dig a hole with it and shall turn and cover up your waste. 14 Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to rescue you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy (undefiled); and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.
15 “You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall live among you, in the place he chooses in one of your cities where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat or oppress him.
17 “There shall be no cult prostitute among the daughters of Israel, nor shall there be a cult prostitute (a sodomite) among the sons of Israel. 18 You shall not bring the wages of a prostitute or the price of a dog [that is, a male prostitute] into the house of the Lord your God as payment for any vow, for both of these [the gift and the giver] are utterly repulsive to the Lord your God.
19 “You shall not charge interest to your fellow Israelite—interest on money, food or anything that may be loaned for interest. 20 You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your fellow Israelite you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in [c]all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.
21 “When you make a [d]vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for He will most certainly require it of you, and a delay would cause you to sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, that would not be [counted as] sin in you. 23 You shall be careful to perform that [vow] which passes your lips, just as you have made a voluntary vow to the Lord your God, just as you have promised with your own words (mouth).
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, [e]as many as you please, but you shall not put any in your basket [to take with you].
25 “When you come into the standing grain of your neighbor, you may [f]pluck the ears of grain with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain [to harvest it].
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:2 That is, one who was born from incest, an adulterous relationship, or a mixed marriage (a Jew or a Jewess and a Gentile).
- Deuteronomy 23:3 Ruth, one of the ancestors of Jesus, was a Moabitess, but she essentially became an Israelite (Ruth 1:16) and married an Israelite (Boaz). Moreover, the rabbis taught that Deut 23:3 applied only to Ammonite and Moabite men. This teaching was summarized by what became a common saying: “An Ammonite [is forbidden], but not an Ammonitess; a Moabite, but not a Moabitess!” (as quoted from the Talmud).
- Deuteronomy 23:20 Lit all to which your hand is put.
- Deuteronomy 23:21 The abuse of vows was a practice for which Jesus sternly rebuked the Pharisees. There were at least two kinds of abuse for which they were rightly held responsible: 1) their approval of vows which should have been overruled and rejected because they violated even more important commandments (see Matt 15:3-6); and 2) inappropriate or hair-splitting criteria for determining the validity of a vow (Matt 23:16-22).
- Deuteronomy 23:24 Lit according to your soul.
- Deuteronomy 23:25 When Jesus and His disciples picked some grain in this manner, they were not charged with theft by the Pharisees, but of doing work on the Sabbath, which was clearly not the case (Matt 12:1-6).
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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