Deuteronomy 23
1 No man with crushed or severed genitals may enter the assembly of the LORD.
No man whose genitals have been damaged or cut off is allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary.
2 No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the LORD, nor may any of his descendants, even to the tenth generation.
No one of mixed race is allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary, and none of his descendants may do so either, up to the tenth generation.
3 No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.
No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants are allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary, up to the tenth generation.
4 For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
For they did not come to meet you with food and water on your journey from Egypt, and they hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor in Mesopotamia, to curse you.
5 Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. The Lord your God turned what was meant to be a curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.
6 You are not to seek peace or prosperity from them as long as you live.
Don't arrange a peace treaty with them or help them out as long as you live.
7 Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
Don't look down on an Edomite, for they are your relatives. Don't look down on an Egyptian either, because you lived as foreigners in their country.
8 The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.
The third generation of their children are allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary.
9 When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every wicked thing.
When you are in an army camp during a war with your enemies, make sure you avoid anything wrong.
10 If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he must leave the camp and stay outside.
Any man there who becomes unclean because of a release of semen must leave the camp and remain outside.
11 When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may return to the camp.
Towards the end of the day he must wash himself with water, and at sunset he may return to the camp.
12 You must have a place outside the camp to go and relieve yourself.
Choose a place outside the camp to be used as a toilet.
13 And you must have a digging tool in your equipment so that when you relieve yourself you can dig a hole and cover up your excrement.
You need to have a spade as part of your equipment so that you can dig a hole, and then when you're finished you can cover up your excrement.
14 For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, lest He see anything unclean among you and turn away from you.
The Lord your God is present with you in your camp to keep you safe and to defeat your enemies. Your camp must be kept holy, because if he sees anything unclean among you and he will leave you.
15 Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you.
Don't send a slave back to their master if they have come to you for protection.
16 Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.
Let the slave live in your country wherever they want, in whatever town they want. Don't mistreat them.
17 No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.
No Israelite women or men are to be cult prostitutes.
18 You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.
Don't bring into the house of the Lord your God any money from a prostitute, whether a woman or a man, using it to fulfill a promise to the Lord, for both are offensive to the Lord your God.
19 Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.
Don't charge a fellow Israelite interest on money, food, or any other kind of loan.
20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything to which you put your hand in the land that you are entering to possess.
You may charge a foreigner interest, but not an Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the country that you are going in to occupy.
21 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
If you make a promise to the Lord your God, don't be slow in keeping it, because he will definitely demand that you fulfill it and you will be guilty of sin if you don't.
22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin.
If you don't make such promises then you won't be guilty of sin.
23 Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
But make sure to carry out what you've said to the Lord your God, because it was you who freely chose to make such a promise.
24 When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not put any in your basket.
When you walk through your neighbor's vineyard, you can eat as many grapes as you want, but you must not collect any to take with you.
25 When you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.
When you walk through your neighbor's grainfield, you may pick the ears of grain with your hand, but you must not use a sickle to harvest it.
