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Deuteronomy 23
New International Version
Deuteronomy 23
New International Version
Exclusion From the Assembly
23 [a]No one who has been emasculated(A) by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 No one born of a forbidden marriage[b] nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.
3 No Ammonite(B) or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.(C) 4 For they did not come to meet you with bread and water(D) on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam(E) son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim[c](F) to pronounce a curse on you.(G) 5 However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse(H) into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves(I) you. 6 Do not seek a treaty(J) of friendship with them as long as you live.(K)
7 Do not despise an Edomite,(L) for the Edomites are related to you.(M) Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country.(N) 8 The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Uncleanness in the Camp
9 When you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure.(O) 10 If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there.(P) 11 But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset(Q) he may return to the camp.(R)
12 Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God moves(S) about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy,(T) so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 If a slave has taken refuge(U) with you, do not hand them over to their master.(V) 16 Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress(W) them.
17 No Israelite man(X) or woman is to become a shrine prostitute.(Y) 18 You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute[d] into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.(Z)
19 Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest.(AA) 20 You may charge a foreigner(AB) interest, but not a fellow Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless(AC) you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.
21 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it,(AD) for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.(AE) 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty.(AF) 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.
24 If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. 25 If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.(AG)
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 23:1 In Hebrew texts 23:1-25 is numbered 23:2-26.
- Deuteronomy 23:2 Or one of illegitimate birth
- Deuteronomy 23:4 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
- Deuteronomy 23:18 Hebrew of a dog
Deuteronomy 23
New Living Translation
Deuteronomy 23
New Living Translation
Regulations concerning Worship
23 [a]“If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
2 “If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. 4 These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram-naharaim to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the Lord your God loves you. 6 As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.
7 “Do not detest the Edomites or the Egyptians, because the Edomites are your relatives and you lived as foreigners among the Egyptians. 8 The third generation of Edomites and Egyptians may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Miscellaneous Regulations
9 “When you go to war against your enemies, be sure to stay away from anything that is impure.
10 “Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a nocturnal emission must leave the camp and stay away all day. 11 Toward evening he must bathe himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.
12 “You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement. 14 The camp must be holy, for the Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you.
15 “If slaves should escape from their masters and take refuge with you, you must not hand them over to their masters. 16 Let them live among you in any town they choose, and do not oppress them.
17 “No Israelite, whether man or woman, may become a temple prostitute. 18 When you are bringing an offering to fulfill a vow, you must not bring to the house of the Lord your God any offering from the earnings of a prostitute, whether a man[b] or a woman, for both are detestable to the Lord your God.
19 “Do not charge interest on the loans you make to a fellow Israelite, whether you loan money, or food, or anything else. 20 You may charge interest to foreigners, but you may not charge interest to Israelites, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
21 “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised him. For the Lord your God demands that you promptly fulfill all your vows, or you will be guilty of sin. 22 However, it is not a sin to refrain from making a vow. 23 But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the Lord your God.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not carry any away in a basket. 25 And when you enter your neighbor’s field of grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not harvest it with a sickle.
Deuteronomy 23
New King James Version
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
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.