Deuteronomy 23

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

He who is wounded in the testicles, or has his private part cut off, shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

2 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.

A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah, even to the tenth generation none of his shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

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

An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah, even to the tenth generation none belonging to them shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah forever,

4 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.

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

5 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.

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

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

Thou shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days forever.

7 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.

Thou shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother. Thou shall not abhor an Egyptian, because thou were a sojourner in his land.

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

The sons of the third generation who are born to them shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

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

When the army goes forth against thine enemies, then thou shall keep thee from every evil thing.

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

If there be among you any man, who is not clean by reason of an accident by night, then he shall go abroad out of the camp. He shall not come inside the camp.

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

But it shall be, when evening comes on, he shall bathe himself in water, and when the sun is down, he shall come inside the camp.

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

Thou shall have a place also outside the camp, where thou shall go forth abroad.

13 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.

And thou shall have a paddle among thy weapons, and it shall be, when thou sit down abroad, thou shall dig with it, and shall turn back and cover that which comes from thee.

14 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.

For Jehovah thy God walks in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee. Therefore thy camp shall be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

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

Thou shall not deliver to his master a servant who is escaped from his master to thee.

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

He shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it pleases him best. Thou shall not oppress him.

17 No Israelite women or men are to be cult prostitutes.

There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel.

18 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.

Thou shall not bring the hire of a harlot, or the wages of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God for any vow, for even both these are an abomination to Jehovah thy God.

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

Thou shall not lend upon interest to thy brother: interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent upon interest.

20 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.

To a foreigner thou may lend upon interest, but to thy brother thou shall not lend upon interest, that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all that thou put thy hand to, in the land where thou go in to possess it.

21 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.

When thou shall vow a vow to Jehovah thy God, thou shall not be slack to pay it. For Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee, and it would be sin in thee.

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

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

23 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.

That which has gone out of thy lips thou shall observe and do, according as thou have vowed to Jehovah thy God, a freewill offering, which thou have promised with thy mouth.

24 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.

When thou come into thy neighbor's vineyard, then thou may eat thy fill of grapes at thine own pleasure, but thou shall not put any in thy vessel.

25 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.

When thou come into thy neighbor's standing grain, then thou may pluck the ears with thy hand, but thou shall not move a sickle to thy neighbor's standing grain.