Deuteronomy 23

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

²A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord.

³An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:

⁴Because 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 of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

⁵Nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee.

⁶Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

⁷Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.

⁸The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the Lord in their third generation.

⁹When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.

¹⁰If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:

¹¹But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.

¹²Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:

¹³And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

¹⁴For the Lord 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 see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

¹⁵Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:

¹⁶He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.

¹⁷There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.

¹⁸Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God.

¹⁹Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:

²⁰Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

²¹When thou shalt vow a vow unto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

²²But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.

²³That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

²⁴When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.

²⁵When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.

Deuteronomy 23

¹No man whose private parts have been wounded or cut off may come into the meeting of the Lord's people.

²One whose father and mother are not married may not come into the meeting of the Lord's people, or any of his family to the tenth generation.

³No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their people to the tenth generation may come into the meeting of the Lord's people:

⁴Because they gave you no bread or water on your way, when you came out of Egypt: and they got Balaam, the son of Peor, from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to put curses on you.

⁵But the Lord your God would not give ear to Balaam, but let the curse be changed into a blessing to you, because of his love for you.

⁶Do nothing for their peace or well-being for ever.

⁷But have no hate for an Edomite, because he is your brother, or for an Egyptian, for you were living in his land.

⁸Their children in the third generation may come into the meeting of the Lord's people.

⁹When you go out to war and put your tents in position, keep from every evil thing.

¹⁰If any man among you becomes unclean through anything which has taken place in the night, he is to go out from the tent-circle and keep outside it:

¹¹But when evening comes near, let him take a bath: and after sundown he may come back to the tents.

¹²Let there be a place outside the tent-circle to which you may go;

¹³And have among your arms a spade; and when you have been to that place, let that which comes from you be covered up with earth:

¹⁴For the Lord your God is walking among your tents, to keep you safe and to give up into your hands those who are fighting against you; then let your tents be holy, so that he may see no unclean thing among you, and be turned away from you.

¹⁵Do not give back to his master a servant who has gone in flight from his master and come to you:

¹⁶Let him go on living among you in whatever place is most pleasing to him: do not be hard on him.

¹⁷No daughter of Israel is to let herself be used as a loose woman for a strange god, and no son of Israel is to give himself to a man.

¹⁸Do not take into the house of the Lord your God, as an offering for an oath, the price of a loose woman or the money given to one used for sex purposes in the worship of the gods: for these two things are disgusting to the Lord your God.

¹⁹Do not take interest from an Israelite on anything, money or food or any other goods, which you let him have:

²⁰From men of other nations you may take interest, but not from an Israelite: so that the blessing of the Lord your God may be on everything to which you put your hand, in the land which you are about to take as your heritage.

²¹When you take an oath to the Lord, do not be slow to give effect to it: for without doubt the Lord your God will make you responsible, and will put it to your account as sin.

²²But if you take no oath, there will be no sin.

²³Whatever your lips have said, see that you do it; for you gave your word freely to the Lord your God.

²⁴When you go into your neighbour's vine-garden, you may take of his grapes at your pleasure, but you may not take them away in your vessel.

²⁵When you go into your neighbour's field, you may take the heads of grain with your hand; but you may not put your blade to his grain.