Deuteronomy 23

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

He that is a eunuch, whether he have been crushed or cut, shall not come into the congregation 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 come into the congregation of Jehovah; even his tenth generation shall not come into the congregation 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 Moabite shall not come into the congregation of Jehovah; even their tenth generation shall not come into the congregation of Jehovah for ever;

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, of 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.

But Jehovah thy God would not listen to Balaam; and Jehovah thy God turned the curse into blessing unto 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 shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

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 shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother. Thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a sojourner in his land.

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

Children that are born to them shall come into the congregation of Jehovah in the third generation.

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

When thou goest forth into camp against thine enemies, then 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 with thee a man that is not clean from what hath happened in the night, then shall he go outside 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.

and it shall be, towards evening, he shall bathe in water: and at the going down of the sun he may come inside the camp.

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

Thou shalt have a place also outside the camp, and shalt go forth thither.

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 shalt have a shovel amongst thy weapons, and it shall be, when thou sittest down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which is come 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 walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; and thy camp shall be holy, that he see nothing unseemly with 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 shalt not hand over to his master a bondman that hath escaped from his master unto 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, even in thy midst, in the place that he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it seemeth good to him; thou shalt not oppress him.

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

There shall be no prostitute amongst the daughters of Israel, nor any Sodomite amongst 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 shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the price 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 shalt take no interest of thy brother, interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that can be 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.

of a foreigner thou mayest take interest, but of thy brother thou shalt not take interest; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the business of thy hand in the land whither thou goest 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 vowest a vow to Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not delay to perform it; for Jehovah thy God will certainly require it of thee, and it shall be sin in thee.

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

But if thou 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.

What is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and do, as thou hast vowed to Jehovah thy God, the voluntary-offering that thou hast 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 comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, thou mayest eat grapes thy fill, according to thy desire, but thou shalt 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 comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, thou mayest pluck ears with thy hand; but thou shalt not wave the sickle against thy neighbour's standing corn.