Deuteronomy 23

1 “A eunuch, one whose testicles have been debilitated or cut off, or whose penis has been cut off, shall not enter into the church of the Lord.

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

2 The offspring of a harlot, that is, one born of a prostitute, shall not enter into the church of the Lord, until the tenth generation.

One 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.

3 The Ammonite and the Moabite, even after the tenth generation, shall not enter into the church of the Lord forever,

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

4 because they were not willing to meet you with bread and water along the way, when you had departed from Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam, the son of Beor, from Mesopotamia in Syria, in order to curse you.

Because 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.

5 But the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he turned his cursing into your blessing, because he loves you.

But 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.

6 You shall not make peace with them, nor shall you seek their prosperity, throughout all the days of your life forever.

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

7 You shall not abhor anyone from Idumea, for he is your brother, nor the Egyptian, for you were a new arrival in his land.

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

8 Those who have been born of them, in the third generation, shall enter into the church of the Lord.

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

9 When you have gone out to war against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from everything that is evil.

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

10 If there is a man among you who has been defiled by a dream in the night, he shall depart from the camp.

If 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:

11 And he shall not return before the evening, after he has washed with water, and then, after the sun sets, he shall return to the camp.

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

12 You shall have a place beyond the camp to which you may go for the necessities of nature,

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

13 carrying a small shovel at your belt. And when you would sit down, you shall dig around, and then, with the soil that was dug up, you shall cover

And 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:

14 that from which you were relieved. For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, in order to rescue you, and to deliver your enemies to you. And so, let your camp be holy, and let nothing filthy appear within it, lest he abandon you.

For 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.

15 You shall not deliver a servant who has fled to you to his master.

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

16 He shall live with you in a place that pleases him, and he shall rest in one of your cities. You shall not grieve him.

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

17 There shall be no prostitutes among the daughters of Israel, nor anyone among the sons of Israel who visits a prostitute.

No 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.

18 You shall not offer money from a prostitute, nor the price of a dog, in the house of the Lord your God, no matter what you may have vowed. For both of these are an abomination with the Lord your God.

Do 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.

19 You shall not lend money, or grain, or anything else at all, to your brother at interest,

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

20 but only to a foreigner. For you shall lend to your brother whatever he needs without interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your works in the land, which you shall enter so as to possess it.

From 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.

21 When you have made a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not be late in paying it. For the Lord your God demands it. And if you delay, it shall be imputed to you as a sin.

When 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.

22 If you are not willing to make a promise, then it shall be without sin.

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

23 But as soon as it has departed from your lips, you shall observe and do just as you have promised to the Lord your God and just as you have spoken by your own free will and with your own mouth.

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

24 Upon entering your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you please. But you may not carry any out with you.

When 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.

25 If you enter into your friend’s grain field, you may break off the ears, and rub them in your hand, but you may not reap them with a sickle.”

When 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.