Deuteronomy Chapter 23

Exclusion from the Assembly

¹ “Nobody that’s been castrated or has his penis cut off, can go into Yahveh’s assembly. ² No illegitimate person or his descendant can go into Yahveh’s assembly for ten generations. ³ No Ammonite, Moabite, or their descendant can go into Yahveh’s assembly for ten generations. ⁴ They didn’t meet you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. They hired Balaam Ben-Beor from Mesopotamia to curse you, ⁵ but Yahveh wouldn’t listen to him. He turned the curse into a blessing because he loves you. ⁶ Never seek peace or prosperity with them.

⁷“Don’t detest Edomites; they’re kin. Don’t detest Egyptians; you lived as foreigners in his land. ⁸ The third generation can enter Yahveh’s assembly.

Uncleanness in Camp

⁹ “When you go out as an army, keep yourselves away from anything impure. ¹⁰ If a man is ceremonially unclean from night emissions, he must leave the camp the rest of the day. ¹¹ In the evening, he can take a bath and come back. ¹² Have a place outside the camp to go to. ¹³ Keep a spade among your tools. When you defecate, dig a hole and cover up your feces. ¹⁴ Since Yahveh lives in your camp to deliver you from your enemies, your camp must be holy. He must not see anything detestable among you, or he’ll turn away from you.

Deut 23:1-14

Miscellaneous Laws

¹⁵ “Don’t hand over to their master any slaves that escape to you. ¹⁶ Let them live among you where they choose. Don’t mistreat them.

¹⁷ “No son or daughter will be a cult prostitute. ¹⁸ Don’t take the hire of a female or male prostitute* to Yahveh’s house for an offering to fulfill a vow. They’re detestable to your God.

¹⁹ “Don’t charge your fellow citizens interest on money, food, or anything that can be loaned at interest, ²⁰ so Yahveh can bless what you undertake. You can charge a foreigner interest.

²¹ “When you vow to Yahveh, don’t delay paying it. That would be a sin, and he’ll certainly hold you to it. ( ²² Not taking any vow isn’t a sin.) ²³ You have to do what you voluntarily promise your God.

²⁴ “You can go into someone else’s vineyard and eat as many grapes as you want, but you can’t put any in a container. ²⁵ You can go into someone’s standing grain and pick off heads, but you can’t use a sickle on it.

Deut 23:15-25