Deuteronomy 23

Purity in Public Worship

23:1 A man with crushed¹ or severed genitals² may not enter the assembly of the Lord.³ 23:2 A person of illegitimate birth⁴ may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so.⁵

23:3 An Ammonite or Moabite⁶ may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever⁷ do so,⁸ 23:4 for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired⁹ Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you. 23:5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed¹⁰ the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God loves¹¹ you. 23:6 You must not seek peace and prosperity for them through all the ages to come. 23:7 You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative;¹² you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner¹³ in his land. 23:8 Children of the third generation born to them¹⁴ may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Purity in Personal Hygiene

23:9 When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure.¹⁵ 23:10 If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission,¹⁶ he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately. 23:11 When evening arrives he must wash himself with water and then at sunset he may reenter the camp.

23:12 You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine.¹⁷ 23:13 You must have a spade among your other equipment and when you relieve yourself¹⁸ outside you must dig a hole with the spade¹⁹ and then turn and cover your excrement.²⁰ 23:14 For the Lord your God walks about in the middle of your camp to deliver you and defeat²¹ your enemies for you. Therefore your camp should be holy, so that he does not see anything indecent²² among you and turn away from you.

Purity in the Treatment of the Nonprivileged

23:15 You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you.²³ 23:16 Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages²⁴ he prefers; you must not oppress him.

Purity in Cultic Personnel

23:17 There must never be a sacred prostitute²⁵ among the young women²⁶ of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute²⁷ among the young men²⁸ of Israel. 23:18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute²⁹ or the wage of a male prostitute³⁰ into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Respect for Others’ Property

23:19 You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite,³¹ whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest. 23:20 You may lend with interest to a foreigner, but not to your fellow Israelite; if you keep this command the Lord your God will bless you in all you undertake in the land you are about to enter to possess. 23:21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he³² will surely³³ hold you accountable as a sinner.³⁴ 23:22 If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. 23:23 Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering. 23:24 When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please,³⁵ but you must not take away any in a container.³⁶ 23:25 When you go into the ripe grain fields of your neighbor you may pluck off the kernels with your hand,³⁷ but you must not use a sickle on your neighbor’s ripe grain.

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