Deuteronomy 23:22-24
The Voice
22 It isn’t a sin to make a vow in the first place. 23 But whatever you do say, you must fulfill completely: you made a vow of your own free will to the Eternal your God, and you must keep your word.
The law in verses 9-14 is loosely connected with those in the preceding group by the theme of someone being excluded from a community that is defined by the Eternal One’s presence. In this case, however, both the exclusion and the community are temporary.
The concern for “decency” in this law doesn’t relate to moral or immoral acts, but rather to personal bodily functions that should be kept private and discrete. Otherwise, they expose too much of the person to community view. They’re described literally as a form of “nakedness.” In this context, being “unclean” means needing to deal with a private matter before being able to reengage the community.
An essential principle in the Old Testament is that what is unclean must never come into contact with what is holy. The Eternal One’s presence is supremely holy, thus the concern for decency in the camp where the Eternal One travels with the army.
24 When you’re passing through another Israelite’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you want there, but don’t carry any away in a container.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
