Deuteronomy 23

1 No man injured by crushing or cutting off may enter the assembly of Yahweh.

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

2 No illegitimate child may belong to the assembly of Yahweh; as far as to the tenth generation of his descendants, none of them may belong to the assembly of Yahweh.

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 An Ammonite or a Moabite may not belong to the assembly of Yahweh; as far as to the tenth generation of his descendants, none of them may belong to the assembly of Yahweh.

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

4 This is because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the road when you had come out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim, 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 Yahweh your God would not listen to Balaam; instead, Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved 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 must never seek their peace or prosperity, during all your days.

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

7 You must not detest an Edomite, for he is your brother; you must not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a foreigner 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 The descendants of the third generation that are born to them may belong to the assembly of Yahweh.

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

9 When you march out as an army against your enemies, then you must keep yourselves from every evil thing.

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

10 If there is among you any man who is unclean because of what happened to him at night, then he must go out of the army's camp; he must not come back into 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 When evening comes, he must bathe himself in water; when the sun goes down, he will come back inside the camp.

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

12 You must have a place also outside the camp to which you will go;

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

13 and you will have something among your tools to dig with; when you squat down to relieve yourself, you must dig with it and then put back the earth and cover up what has come out from you.

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 For Yahweh your God walks in the midst of your camp to give you victory and to give your enemies into your hand. Therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see any unclean thing among you and turn away from 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 must not give back to his master a slave who has escaped from his master.

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

16 Let him live with you, in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him.

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

17 There must be no cultic prostitute among any of the daughters of Israel, neither must there be a cultic prostitute among the sons of Israel.

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 must not bring the wages of a prostitute or the wages of a dog into the house of Yahweh your God for any vow; for both these are abominations to Yahweh 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 must not lend on interest to your fellow Israelite—interest of money, interest of food, or the interest of anything that is lent on interest.

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

20 To a foreigner you may lend on interest; but to your fellow Israelite you must not lend on interest, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all that you put your hand to, in the land which you are going in to possess.

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 make a vow to Yahweh your God, you must not be slow in fulfilling it, for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you; it would be sin for you not to fulfill it.

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 But if you will refrain from making a vow, it will be no sin for you.

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

23 That which has gone out from your lips you must observe and do; according as you have vowed to Yahweh your God, anything that you have freely promised with your mouth.

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

24 When you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you desire, but do not put any in your basket.

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 When you go into your neighbor's ripe grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but do not put a sickle to your neighbor's ripe grain.

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.