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Membership Exclusions. No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting can enter the assembly of the Lord.[a] No one who is illegitimate[b] can enter the assembly of the Lord, nor can his descendants to the tenth generation enter the assembly of the Lord. No Ammonite or Moabite can enter the assembly of the Lord, even their descendants to the tenth generation cannot enter the assembly of the Lord for they did not greet you with bread and water as you were on your way when you came forth out of Egypt. They hired Balaam, the son of Beor who came from Pethor in Mesopotamia to curse you. However, the Lord, your God, would not listen to Balaam. The Lord, your God, turned a curse upon you into a blessing, for the Lord, your God, loved you. Do not establish a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.

Do not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not detest an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner in his land. The third generation of children born to them can enter the assembly of the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:2 According to some scholars, this mutilation may have indicated that person now belonged to a Canaanite divinity.
  2. Deuteronomy 23:3 One who is illegitimate: a person who had a foreigner for one of his parents.