Deuteronomy 23
Exclusion From the Assembly
1 No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 No one born of a forbidden marriaget nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.
3 No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.4 For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaimt to pronounce a curse on you.5 However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.6 Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.
7 Do not despise an Edomite, for the Edomites are related to you. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country.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.10 If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there.11 But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.
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 about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master.16 Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them.
17 No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute.18 You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitutet into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.
19 Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest.20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a fellow Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless 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, for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty.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.
DEUTERONOMY 23
Who Cannot Become One //of the [Lord]'s People
Moses said to Israel:
1 If a man's private parts have been crushed or cut off, t he cannot fully belong to the [Lord]'s people.
2 No one born outside of a legal marriage, or any of their descendants for ten generations, can fully belong to the [Lord]'s people.
3 t No Ammonites or Moabites, or any of their descendants for ten generations, can become part of Israel, the [Lord]'s people. 4 t This is because when you came out of Egypt, they refused to provide you with food and water. And besides, they hired Balaamt to put a curse on you. 5 t But the [Lord] your God loves you, so he refused to listen to Balaam and turned Balaam's curse into a blessing.
6 Don't even think of signing a peace treaty with Moab or Ammon.
7 But Edomites are your relatives, and you lived as foreigners in the country of Egypt. Now you must be kind to Edomites and Egyptians
8 and let their great-grandchildren become part of Israel, the [Lord]'s people.Keep the Army Camp //Acceptable
Moses said to Israel:
9 When you men go off to fight your enemies, make sure your camp is acceptable to the [Lord].
10 For example, if something happens at night that makes a man unclean and unfit for worship, het must go outside the camp and stay there
11 until late afternoon. Then he must take a bath, and at sunset he can go back into camp.
12 Set up a place outside the camp to be used as a toilet area. 13 And make sure that you have a small shovel in your equipment. When you go out to the toilet area, use the shovel to dig a hole. Then, after you relieve yourself, bury the waste in the hole.
14 You must keep your camp clean of filthy and disgusting things. The [Lord] is always present in your camp, ready to rescue you and give you victory over your enemies. But if he sees something disgusting in your camp, he may turn around and leave.Runaway Slaves //from Other Countries
Moses said:
15 When runaway slaves from other countries come to Israel and ask for protection, you must not hand them back to their owners.
16 Instead, you must let them choose which one of your towns they want to live in. Don't be cruel to runaway slaves.Temple Prostitutes
Moses said:
17 t People of Israel, don't any of you ever be temple prostitutes.t
18 The [Lord] your God is disgusted with men and women who are prostitutes of any kind, and he will not accept a gift from them, even if it had been promised to him.Interest on Loans
Moses said:
19 t When you lend money, food, or anything else to another Israelite, you are not allowed to charge interest.
20 You can charge a foreigner interest. But if you charge other Israelites interest, the [Lord] your God will not let you be successful in the land you are about to take.Sacred Promises //to the [Lord]
Moses said:
21 t People of Israel, if you make a sacred promise to give a gift to the [Lord], then do it as soon as you can. If the [Lord] has to come looking for the gift you promised, you will be guilty of breaking that promise. 22 On the other hand, if you never make a sacred promise, you can't be guilty of breaking it.
23 You must keep whatever promises you make to the [Lord]. After all, you are the one who chose to make the promises.Eating Someone Else's Produce
24 If you go into a vineyard that belongs to someone else, you are allowed to eat as many grapes as you want while you are there. But don't take any with you when you leave. 25 In the same way, if you are in a grain field that belongs to someone else, you can pick heads of grain and eat the kernels. But don't cut down the stalks of grain and take them with you.
