Deuteronomy 23
1 “Any man whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall not be (included as one of/allowed to worship with) Yahweh’s people.
He that is wounded in the stones, or has his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
2 “No (illegitimate person/person whose mother and father were not married), or descendant of that person, extending to the tenth generation, shall be included as one of Yahweh’s people.
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.
3 “No one from the Ammon or Moab people-groups shall be (included as one of/allowed to worship with) Yahweh’s people, extending to the tenth generation.
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:
4 One reason is that their [leaders] refused to give your ancestors food and water when they were traveling from Egypt [to Canaan]. Another reason is that they wanted to pay Balaam, the son of Beor from Pethor [town] in Mesopotamia, to curse you Israelis.
Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when you came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
5 But Yahweh our God did not pay attention to Balaam; instead, he caused Balaam to bless your ancestors, because Yahweh loved them.
Nevertheless the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because the LORD your God loved you.
6 As long as Israel is a nation, you must not do anything to cause things to go well for those two people-groups or enable them to prosper.
You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days for ever.
7 “But do not despise anyone from the Edom people-group, because they are [descendants of your ancestor Jacob], just like you are. And do not despise people from Egypt, because [they treated your ancestors well when] they first lived in Egypt.
You shall not abhor an Edomite; for he is your brother: you shall not abhor an Egyptian; because you were a stranger in his land.
8 The children and grandchildren of people from Edom and Egypt [who live among you] may be (included among/allowed to worship with) Yahweh’s people.”
The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
9 “When your soldiers are living in tents at a time of fighting your enemies, they must avoid doing things that would make them unacceptable to God.
When the host goes forth against your enemies, then keep you from every wicked thing.
10 If any soldier becomes unacceptable to God because semen comes out of his body during the night, [the next morning] he must go outside the camp and stay there during that day.
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:
11 But in the evening of that day, he must bathe himself, and at sunset he is allowed to come back into the camp.
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.
12 “Your soldiers must have a toilet area outside the camp where you can go [when you need to].
You shall have a place also without the camp, where you shall go forth abroad:
13 [When you go to fight against your enemies], carry a stick along with your weapons, in order that when you need to defecate [EUP], you can dig a hole with the stick, and then cover up the hole [when you have finished defecating].
And you shall have a paddle on 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:
14 You must keep the camp acceptable to Yahweh our God, because he is with you in your camp to protect you and to enable you to defeat your enemies. Do not do anything disgraceful/indecent that would cause Yahweh to abandon you.”
For the LORD your God walks in the middle 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.
15 “If slaves who escape from their masters come to you [and request you to protect them], do not send them back to their masters.
You shall not deliver to his master the servant which is escaped from his master to you:
16 Allow them to stay/live among you, in whatever town they choose, and do not mistreat them.
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.
17 “Do not [allow] any Israeli man or woman [to] become a prostitute at the temple.
There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18 Also, do not allow any people who earned money from being a prostitute to bring any of that money into the temple of Yahweh our God, even if they solemnly promised to pay that money to Yahweh. Yahweh hates those who are prostitutes.
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 to the LORD your God.
19 “When you lend money or food or anything else to a fellow Israeli, do not charge them interest.
You shall not lend on usury to your brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent on usury:
20 You are allowed to charge interest when you lend money to foreigners [who live in your land], but not when you lend money to Israelis. Do this in order that Yahweh our God will bless you in everything that you do in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.
To a stranger you may lend on usury; but to your brother you shall not lend on usury: 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.
21 “When you vow to give something to Yahweh your God [or to do something for him], do it as soon as you can. Yahweh expects you to do what you promised, and if you do not do it, you will be committing a sin.
When you shall vow a vow to 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.
22 But if you [SYN] do not vow [to do something], that is not sinful.
But if you shall forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in you.
23 But if you voluntarily promise to do something, you must do it.
That which is gone out of your lips you shall keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as you have vowed to the LORD your God, which you have promised with your mouth.
24 “When you walk through someone else’s vineyard, you are allowed to [pick and] eat as many grapes as you want, but you must not [cut some from a vine and carry them away] in a container.
When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes your fill at your own pleasure; but you shall not put any in your vessel.
25 When you walk [along a path] in someone else’s field of grain, you are allowed to pluck/pick some of the grain and eat it, but you must not cut any grain with a sickle [and take it with you].”
When you come into the standing corn of your neighbor, then you may pluck the ears with your hand; but you shall not move a sickle to your neighbor’s standing corn.
