Deuteronomy 23

1 He that is wounded or mutilated in his secrets, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

“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.

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.

“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.

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:

“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.

4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth from Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

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.

5 Nevertheless, the LORD thy God would not hearken to Balaam: but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing to thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.

But Yahweh our God did not pay attention to Balaam; instead, he caused Balaam to bless your ancestors, because Yahweh loved them.

6 Thou shalt not seek their peace, nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

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.

7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he [is] thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land.

“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.

8 The children that are begotten by them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.

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.”

9 When the host goeth forth against thy enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.

“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.

10 If there shall be among you any man that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth to him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:

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.

11 But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash [himself] with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp [again].

But in the evening of that day, he must bathe himself, and at sunset he is allowed to come back into the camp.

12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:

“Your soldiers must have a toilet area outside the camp where you can go [when you need to].

13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon: and it shall be when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig with it, and shalt turn back, and cover that which cometh from thee:

[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].

14 For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thy enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he may see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

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.”

15 Thou shalt not deliver to his master the servant who hath escaped from his master to thee:

“If slaves who escape from their masters come to you [and request you to protect them], do not send them back to their masters.

16 He shall dwell with thee, [even] among you in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him.

Allow them to stay/live among you, in whatever town they choose, and do not mistreat them.

17 There shall be no harlot of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.

“Do not [allow] any Israeli man or woman [to] become a prostitute at the temple.

18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the price of a dog into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these [are] abomination to the LORD thy God.

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.

19 Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of any thing that is lent upon interest:

“When you lend money or food or anything else to a fellow Israeli, do not charge them interest.

20 To a stranger thou mayest lend upon interest; but to thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thy hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

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.

21 When thou shalt vow a vow to the LORD thy God, thou shalt not defer to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

“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.

22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.

But if you [SYN] do not vow [to do something], that is not sinful.

23 That which is uttered by thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; [even] a free-will-offering, according as thou hast vowed to the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

But if you voluntarily promise to do something, you must do it.

24 When thou comest into thy neighbor's vineyard, then thou mayest satisfy thy appetite with grapes at thy own pleasure; but thou shalt not put [any] in thy vessel.

“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.

25 When thou comest into the standing-corn of thy neighbor, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy hand: but thou shalt not move a sickle to thy neighbor's standing-corn.

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].”