Deuteronomy 23
23
The Lord’s People
1No man who has had part of his sex organ cut off may come into the worship meeting of the Lord’s people.
2No one born to parents who were forbidden by law to marry may come into the meeting to worship the Lord. His descendants for ten generations may not come in either.
3No Ammonite or Moabite may come into the meeting to worship the Lord. And none of their descendants for ten generations may come in. 4This is because the Ammonites and Moabites did not give you bread and water when you came out of Egypt. And they hired Balaam to put a curse on you. He was the son of Beor from Pethor in Northwest Mesopotamia. 5But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam. He turned the curse into a blessing for you. The Lord your God loves you. 6Don’t wish for their peace or success as long as you live.
7Don’t hate Edomites. They are your relatives. Don’t hate Egyptians, because you were foreigners in their country. 8The great-grandchildren of these two peoples may come into the meeting to worship the Lord.
Keeping the Camp Clean
9When you are camped in time of war, keep away from unclean things. 10A man might become unclean during the night. If he does, he must go outside the camp and not come back. 11But when evening comes, he must wash himself. At sunset he may come back into the camp.
12Choose a place outside the camp where people may go to relieve themselves. 13Carry a stick with you. When you relieve yourself, dig a hole. Cover up your dung. 14The Lord your God moves around through your camp. He will protect you. He will help you defeat your enemies. So the camp must be holy. The Lord must not see anything unclean among you. Then he will not leave you.
Other Laws
15An escaped slave might come to you. Do not hand him over to his master. 16Let the slave live with you anywhere he likes. He may live in any town he chooses. Do not mistreat him.
17No Israelite man or woman must ever become a temple prostitute. 18Do not bring a male or female prostitute’s pay to the Temple of the Lord your God to pay what you have promised to the Lord. The Lord your God hates prostitution.
19You may loan your fellow Israelite money or food or anything else. But don’t make him pay back more than what you loaned him. 20You may charge a foreigner, but not a fellow Israelite. Then the Lord your God will bless everything you do. He will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.
21You might make a promise to give something to the Lord your God. Do not be slow to pay it. The Lord your God demands it from you. Do not be guilty of sin. 22But if you do not make the promise, you will not be guilty. 23You must do whatever you say you will do. You chose to make the promise to the Lord your God.
24You might go into your neighbor’s vineyard. You may eat as many grapes as you wish. But do not fill your basket with his grapes. 25You might go into your neighbor’s grainfield. You may pick grain with your hands. But you must not cut down his grain with your sickle.
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Deuteronomy 23: ICB
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