< Deuteronomy 23 >
1 He that is wounded in the stones, or has his private parts cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
“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.
2 A 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.
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.
3 An 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:
The Ammonite and the Moabite, even after the tenth generation, shall not enter into the church of the Lord forever,
4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when all of you came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
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.
5 Nevertheless the LORD your God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing unto you, because the LORD your God loved you.
But the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and he turned his cursing into your blessing, because he loves you.
6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days for ever.
You shall not make peace with them, nor shall you seek their prosperity, throughout all the days of your life forever.
7 You shall not detest an Edomite; for he is your brother: you shall not detest an Egyptian; because you were a stranger in his land.
You shall not abhor anyone from Idumea, for he is your brother, nor the Egyptian, for you were a new arrival in his land.
8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
Those who have been born of them, in the third generation, shall enter into the church of the Lord.
9 When the host goes forth against your enemies, then keep you from every wicked thing.
When you have gone out to war against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from everything that is evil.
10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chances him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
If there is a man among you who has been defiled by a dream in the night, he shall depart from the camp.
11 But it shall be, when evening comes on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
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.
12 You shall have a place also without the camp, where you shall go forth abroad:
You shall have a place beyond the camp to which you may go for the necessities of nature,
13 And you shall have a paddle upon your weapon; and it shall be, when you will ease yourself abroad, you shall dig therewith, and shall turn back and cover that which comes from you:
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
14 For the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you; therefore shall your camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in you, and turn away from you.
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.
15 You shall not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto you:
You shall not deliver a servant who has fled to you to his master.
16 He shall dwell with you, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of your gates, where it likes him best: you shall not oppress him.
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.
17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
There shall be no prostitutes among the daughters of Israel, nor anyone among the sons of Israel who visits a prostitute.
18 You shall not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD your God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD your God.
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.
19 You shall not lend upon interest to your brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of any thing that is lent upon interest:
You shall not lend money, or grain, or anything else at all, to your brother at interest,
20 Unto a stranger you may lend upon interest; but unto your brother you shall not lend upon interest: that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you set your hand to in the land where you go to possess it.
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.
21 When you shall vow a vow unto the LORD your God, you shall not slack to pay it: for the LORD your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.
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.
22 But if you shall forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in you.
If you are not willing to make a promise, then it shall be without sin.
23 That which is gone out of your lips you shall keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as you have vowed unto the LORD your God, which you have promised with your mouth.
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.
24 When you come into your neighbour's vineyard, then you may eat grapes your fill at your own pleasure; but you shall not put any in your vessel.
Upon entering your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you please. But you may not carry any out with you.
25 When you come into the standing corn of your neighbour, then you may pluck the ears with your hand; but you shall not move a sickle unto your neighbour's standing corn.
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.”