Deuteronomy 23

1 'One wounded, bruised, or cut in the member doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah;

No man whose genitals have been damaged or cut off is allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary.

2 a bastard doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even a tenth generation of him doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

No one of mixed race is allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary, and none of his descendants may do so either, up to the tenth generation.

3 'An Ammonite and a Moabite doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even a tenth generation of them doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah — to the age;

No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants are allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary, up to the tenth generation.

4 because that they have not come before you with bread and with water in the way, in your coming out from Egypt, and because he hath hired against thee Balaam son of Beor, of Pethor of Aram-Naharaim, to revile thee;

For they did not come to meet you with food and water on your journey from Egypt, and they hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor in Mesopotamia, to curse you.

5 and Jehovah thy God hath not been willing to hearken unto Balaam, and Jehovah thy God doth turn for thee the reviling to a blessing, because Jehovah thy God hath loved thee;

But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. The Lord your God turned what was meant to be a curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.

6 thou dost not seek their peace and their good all thy days — to the age.

Don't arrange a peace treaty with them or help them out as long as you live.

7 'Thou dost not abominate an Edomite, for thy brother he [is]; thou dost not abominate an Egyptian, for a sojourner thou hast been in his land;

Don't look down on an Edomite, for they are your relatives. Don't look down on an Egyptian either, because you lived as foreigners in their country.

8 sons who are begotten of them, a third generation of them, doth enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

The third generation of their children are allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary.

9 'When a camp goeth out against thine enemies, then thou hast kept from every evil thing.

When you are in an army camp during a war with your enemies, make sure you avoid anything wrong.

10 'When there is in thee a man who is not clean, from an accident at night — then he hath gone out unto the outside of the camp — he doth not come in unto the midst of the camp —

Any man there who becomes unclean because of a release of semen must leave the camp and remain outside.

11 and it hath been, at the turning of the evening, he doth bathe with water, and at the going in of the sun he doth come in unto the midst of the camp.

Towards the end of the day he must wash himself with water, and at sunset he may return to the camp.

12 'And a station thou hast at the outside of the camp, and thou hast gone out thither without,

Choose a place outside the camp to be used as a toilet.

13 and a nail thou hast on thy staff, and it hath been, in thy sitting without, that thou hast digged with it, and turned back, and covered thy filth;

You need to have a spade as part of your equipment so that you can dig a hole, and then when you're finished you can cover up your excrement.

14 for Jehovah thy God is walking up and down in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give thine enemies before thee, and thy camp hath been holy, and He doth not see in thee the nakedness of anything, and hath turned back from after thee.

The Lord your God is present with you in your camp to keep you safe and to defeat your enemies. Your camp must be kept holy, because if he sees anything unclean among you and he will leave you.

15 'Thou dost not shut up a servant unto his lord, who is delivered unto thee from his lord;

Don't send a slave back to their master if they have come to you for protection.

16 with thee he doth dwell, in thy midst, in the place which he chooseth within one of thy gates, where it is pleasing to him; thou dost not oppress him.

Let the slave live in your country wherever they want, in whatever town they want. Don't mistreat them.

17 'There is not a whore among the daughters of Israel, nor is there a whoremonger among the sons of Israel;

No Israelite women or men are to be cult prostitutes.

18 thou dost not bring a gift of a whore, or a price of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God, for any vow; for the abomination of Jehovah thy God [are] even both of them.

Don't bring into the house of the Lord your God any money from a prostitute, whether a woman or a man, using it to fulfill a promise to the Lord, for both are offensive to the Lord your God.

19 'Thou dost not lend in usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of food, usury of anything which is lent on usury.

Don't charge a fellow Israelite interest on money, food, or any other kind of loan.

20 To a stranger thou mayest lend in usury, and to thy brother thou dost not lend in usury, so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in every putting forth of thy hand on the land whither thou goest in to possess it.

You may charge a foreigner interest, but not an Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the country that you are going in to occupy.

21 'When thou vowest a vow to Jehovah thy God, thou dost not delay to complete it; for Jehovah thy God doth certainly require it from thee, and it hath been in thee — sin.

If you make a promise to the Lord your God, don't be slow in keeping it, because he will definitely demand that you fulfill it and you will be guilty of sin if you don't.

22 'And when thou forbearest to vow, it is not in thee a sin.

If you don't make such promises then you won't be guilty of sin.

23 The produce of thy lips thou dost keep, and hast done [it], as thou hast vowed to Jehovah thy God; a free-will-offering, which thou hast spoken with thy mouth.

But make sure to carry out what you've said to the Lord your God, because it was you who freely chose to make such a promise.

24 'When thou comest in unto the vineyard of thy neighbour, then thou hast eaten grapes, according to thy desire, thy sufficiency; but into thy vessel thou dost not put [any].

When you walk through your neighbor's vineyard, you can eat as many grapes as you want, but you must not collect any to take with you.

25 When thou comest in among the standing-corn of thy neighbour, then thou hast plucked the ears with thy hand, but a sickle thou dost not wave over the standing-corn of thy neighbour.

When you walk through your neighbor's grainfield, you may pick the ears of grain with your hand, but you must not use a sickle to harvest it.