Deuteronomy 23

1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

2 A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

3 An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none belonging to them enter into the assembly of Jehovah for ever:4 because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.5 Nevertheless Jehovah thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but Jehovah thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because Jehovah thy God loved thee.6 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a sojourner in his land.8 The children of the third generation that are born unto them shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

9 When thou goest forth in camp against thine enemies, then thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing.10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of that which chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:11 but it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall bathe himself in water; and when the sun is down, he shall come within the camp.12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:13 and thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons; and it shall be, when thou sittest down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:14 for Jehovah thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a servant that is escaped from his master unto thee:16 he shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him.

17 There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel.18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the wages of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.

19 Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest:20 unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest, that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou puttest thy hand unto, in the land whither thou goest in to possess it.

21 When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt observe and do; according as thou hast vowed unto Jehovah thy God, a freewill-offering, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

24 When thou comest into thy neighbor’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat of grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.25 When thou comest into thy neighbor’s standing grain, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbor’s standing grain.

Deuteronomy 23

Purity in Public Worship

1 A man with crushedt or severed genitalst may not enter the assembly of the Lord.s

2 A person of illegitimate birtht may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so.t
3 An Ammonite or Moabites may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall evert do so,t4 for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hiredt Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changedt the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God lovest you.6 You must not seek peace and prosperity for them through all the ages to come.7 You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative;t you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreignert in his land.

8 Children of the third generation born to thems may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Purity in Personal Hygiene

9 When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure.t10 If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission,t he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately.

11 When evening arrives he must wash himself with water and then at sunset he may reenter the camp.
12 You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine.t13 You must have a spade among your other equipment and when you relieve yourselft outside you must dig a hole with the spadet and then turn and cover your excrement.t

14 For the Lord your God walks about in the middle of your camp to deliver you and defeatt your enemies for you. Therefore your camp should be holy, so that he does not see anything indecentt among you and turn away from you.

Purity in the Treatment of the Nonprivileged

15 You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you.t

16 Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villagest he prefers; you must not oppress him.

Purity in Cultic Personnel

17 There must never be a sacred prostitutet among the young woment of Israel nor a sacred male prostitutet among the young ment of Israel.

18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitutet or the wage of a male prostitutet into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Respect for Others’ Property

19 You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite,t whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest.20 You may lend with interest to a foreigner, but not to your fellow Israelite; if you keep this command the Lord your God will bless you in all you undertake in the land you are about to enter to possess.21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise het will surelyt hold you accountable as a sinner.t22 If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful.23 Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering.24 When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please,t but you must not take away any in a container.t

25 When you go into the ripe grain fields of your neighbor you may pluck off the kernels with your hand,s but you must not use a sickle on your neighbor’s ripe grain.