Deuteronomy 23
Purity in Public Worship
1 A man with crushed ▼▼tn Heb “bruised by crushing,” which many English versions take to refer to crushed testicles (NAB, NRSV, NLT); TEV “who has been castrated.”
or severed genitals ▼▼tn Heb “cut off with respect to the penis”; KJV, ASV “hath his privy member cut off”; English versions vary in their degree of euphemism here; cf. NAB, NRSV, TEV, NLT “penis”; NASB “male organ”; NCV “sex organ”; CEV “private parts”; NIV “emasculated by crushing or cutting.”
may not enter the assembly of the Lord. ▼▼sn The Hebrew term translated “assembly” (קָהָל, qahal) does not refer here to the nation as such but to the formal services of the tabernacle or temple.
2A person of illegitimate birth ▼▼tn Or “a person born of an illegitimate marriage.”
may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so. ▼▼tn Heb “enter the assembly of the Lord.” The phrase “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
3 No Ammonite or Moabite ▼▼sn An Ammonite or Moabite. These descendants of Lot by his two daughters (cf. Gen 19:30-38) were thereby the products of incest and therefore excluded from the worshiping community. However, these two nations also failed to show proper hospitality to Israel on their way to Canaan (v. 4).
may enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever ▼ do so, ▼▼tn Heb “enter the assembly of the Lord.” The phrase “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
4for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired ▼▼tn Heb “hired against you.”
Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you. 5But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed ▼▼tn Heb “the Lord your God changed.” The phrase “the Lord your God” has not been included in the translation here for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy. Moreover, use of the pronoun “he” could create confusion regarding the referent (the Lord or Balaam).
the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God loves ▼ you. 6You must not seek peace and prosperity for them through all the ages to come. 7You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative; ▼▼tn Heb “brother.”
you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner ▼▼tn Heb “sojourner.”
▼▼sn The same term ger (גֵּר) is used for the resident foreigner living in Israel and of the Israelite who lived in Egypt, despite the very different social conditions of each. A foreign resident has differing status in different countries. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt, but the resident foreigner in Israel was under the same laws (civil and religious) as the Israelite and could worship the Lord as part of the covenant community. Several passages emphasize equal standing under Mosaic Law (Exod 12:49; Lev 24:22; Num 9:14; 15:15, 16, 26, 29; 19:10; 35:15; Deut 1:16) or similar obligations (Exod 20:10; 23:12; Lev 16:29; 17:10, 12, 13; 18:26; 24:16; Num 15:14).
in his land. 8Children of the third generation born to them ▼ may enter the assembly of the Lord. Purity in Personal Hygiene
9 When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure. ▼▼tn Heb “evil.” The context makes clear that this is a matter of ritual impurity, not moral impurity, so it is “evil” in the sense that it disbars one from certain religious activity.
10If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission, ▼▼tn Heb “nocturnal happening.” The Hebrew term קָרֶה (qareh) merely means “to happen” so the phrase here is euphemistic (a “night happening”) for some kind of bodily emission such as excrement or semen. Such otherwise normal physical functions rendered one ritually unclean whether accidental or not. See Lev 15:16-18; 22:4.
he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately. 11When evening arrives he must wash himself with water, and then at sunset he may reenter the camp. 12 You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine. ▼▼tn Heb “so that one may go outside there.” This expression is euphemistic.
13You must have a spade among your other equipment, and when you relieve yourself ▼▼tn Heb “sit.” This expression is euphemistic.
outside you must dig a hole with the spade ▼▼tn Heb “with it”; the referent (the spade mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
and then turn and cover your excrement. ▼▼tn Heb “what comes from you,” a euphemism.
14For the Lord your God walks about in the middle of your camp to deliver you and defeat ▼▼tn Heb “give [over] your enemies.”
your enemies for you. Therefore your camp should be holy, so that he does not see anything indecent ▼▼tn Heb “nakedness of a thing”; NLT “any shameful thing.” The expression עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (ʿervat davar) refers specifically to sexual organs and, by extension, to any function associated with them. There are some aspects of human life that are so personal and private that they ought not be publicly paraded. Cultically speaking, even God is offended by such impropriety (cf. Gen 9:22-23; Lev 18:6-12, 16-19; 20:11, 17-21). See B. Seevers, NIDOTTE 3:528-30.
among you and turn away from you. Purity in the Treatment of the Unprivileged
15 You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you. ▼▼tn The Hebrew text includes “from his master,” but this would be redundant in English style.
16Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages ▼▼tn Heb “gates.”
he prefers; you must not oppress him. Cultic Prostitution Banned
17 There must never be a sacred prostitute ▼▼tn The Hebrew term translated “sacred prostitute” here (קְדֵשָׁה [qedeshah], from קַדֵשׁ [qadesh, “holy”]; cf. NIV “shrine prostitute”; NASB “cult prostitute”; NRSV, TEV, NLT “temple prostitute”) refers to the pagan fertility cults that employed female and male prostitutes in various rituals designed to evoke agricultural and even human fecundity (cf. Gen 38:21-22; 1 Kgs 14:24; 15:12; 22:47; 2 Kgs 23:7; Hos 4:14). The Hebrew term for a regular, noncultic (i.e., “secular”) female prostitute is זוֹנָה (zonah).
among the young women ▼▼tn Heb “daughters.”
of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute ▼▼tn The male cultic prostitute was called קָדֵשׁ (qadesh; see note on the phrase “sacred prostitute” earlier in this verse). The colloquial Hebrew term for a “secular” male prostitute (i.e., a sodomite) is the disparaging epithet כֶּלֶב (kelev, “dog”) which occurs in the following verse (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB).
among the young men ▼▼tn Heb “sons.”
of Israel. 18You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute ▼ or the wage of a male prostitute ▼ 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
19 You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite, ▼▼tn Heb “to your brother” (likewise in the following verse). Since this is not limited to actual siblings, “fellow Israelite” is used in the translation (cf. NAB, NASB “countrymen”).
whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest. 20You 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. 21When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he ▼▼tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
will surely ▼▼tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by “surely.”
hold you accountable as a sinner. ▼▼tn Heb “and it will be a sin to you”; NIV, NCV, NLT “be guilty of sin.”
22If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. 23Whatever 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. 24When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please, ▼▼tn Heb “grapes according to your appetite, your fullness.”
but you must not take away any in a container. ▼▼tn Heb “in your container”; NAB, NIV “your basket.”
25When you go into the ripe grain fields of your neighbor you may pluck off the kernels with your hand, ▼▼sn For the continuation of these practices into NT times see Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5.
but you must not use a sickle on your neighbor’s ripe grain.
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