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23 `One wounded, bruised, or cut in the member doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah;

a bastard doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even a tenth generation of him doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

`An Ammonite and a Moabite doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even a tenth generation of them doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah -- to the age;

because that they have not come before you with bread and with water in the way, in your coming out from Egypt, and because he hath hired against thee Balaam son of Beor, of Pethor of Aram-Naharaim, to revile thee;

and Jehovah thy God hath not been willing to hearken unto Balaam, and Jehovah thy God doth turn for thee the reviling to a blessing, because Jehovah thy God hath loved thee;

thou dost not seek their peace and their good all thy days -- to the age.

`Thou dost not abominate an Edomite, for thy brother he [is]; thou dost not abominate an Egyptian, for a sojourner thou hast been in his land;

sons who are begotten of them, a third generation of them, doth enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

`When a camp goeth out against thine enemies, then thou hast kept from every evil thing.

10 `When there is in thee a man who is not clean, from an accident at night -- then he hath gone out unto the outside of the camp -- he doth not come in unto the midst of the camp --

11 and it hath been, at the turning of the evening, he doth bathe with water, and at the going in of the sun he doth come in unto the midst of the camp.

12 `And a station thou hast at the outside of the camp, and thou hast gone out thither without,

13 and a nail thou hast on thy staff, and it hath been, in thy sitting without, that thou hast digged with it, and turned back, and covered thy filth;

14 for Jehovah thy God is walking up and down in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give thine enemies before thee, and thy camp hath been holy, and He doth not see in thee the nakedness of anything, and hath turned back from after thee.

15 `Thou dost not shut up a servant unto his lord, who is delivered unto thee from his lord;

16 with thee he doth dwell, in thy midst, in the place which he chooseth within one of thy gates, where it is pleasing to him; thou dost not oppress him.

17 `There is not a whore among the daughters of Israel, nor is there a whoremonger among the sons of Israel;

18 thou dost not bring a gift of a whore, or a price of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God, for any vow; for the abomination of Jehovah thy God [are] even both of them.

19 `Thou dost not lend in usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of food, usury of anything which is lent on usury.

20 To a stranger thou mayest lend in usury, and to thy brother thou dost not lend in usury, so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in every putting forth of thy hand on the land whither thou goest in to possess it.

21 `When thou vowest a vow to Jehovah thy God, thou dost not delay to complete it; for Jehovah thy God doth certainly require it from thee, and it hath been in thee -- sin.

22 `And when thou forbearest to vow, it is not in thee a sin.

23 The produce of thy lips thou dost keep, and hast done [it], as thou hast vowed to Jehovah thy God; a free-will-offering, which thou hast spoken with thy mouth.

24 `When thou comest in unto the vineyard of thy neighbour, then thou hast eaten grapes, according to thy desire, thy sufficiency; but into thy vessel thou dost not put [any].

25 When thou comest in among the standing-corn of thy neighbour, then thou hast plucked the ears with thy hand, but a sickle thou dost not wave over the standing-corn of thy neighbour.

24 `When a man doth take a wife, and hath married her, and it hath been, if she doth not find grace in his eyes (for he hath found in her nakedness of anything), and he hath written for her a writing of divorce, and given [it] into her hand, and sent her out of his house,

and she hath gone out of his house, and hath gone and been another man's,

and the latter man hath hated her, and written for her a writing of divorce, and given [it] into her hand, and sent her out of his house, or when the latter man dieth, who hath taken her to himself for a wife:

`Her former husband who sent her away is not able to turn back to take her to be to him for a wife, after that she hath become defiled; for an abomination it [is] before Jehovah, and thou dost not cause the land to sin which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance.

`When a man taketh a new wife, he doth not go out into the host, and [one] doth not pass over unto him for anything; free he is at his own house one year, and hath rejoiced his wife whom he hath taken.

`None doth take in pledge millstones, and rider, for life it [is] he is taking in pledge.

`When a man is found stealing a person, of his brethren, of the sons of Israel, and hath tyrannized over him, and sold him, then hath that thief died, and thou hast put away the evil thing out of thy midst.

`Take heed, in the plague of leprosy, to watch greatly, and to do according to all that the priests, the Levites, teach you; as I have commanded them ye observe to do;

remember that which Jehovah thy God hath done to Miriam in the way, in your coming out of Egypt.

10 `When thou liftest up on thy brother a debt of anything, thou dost not go in unto his house to obtain his pledge;

11 at the outside thou dost stand, and the man on whom thou art lifting [it] up is bringing out unto thee the pledge at the outside.

12 `And if he is a poor man, thou dost not lie down with his pledge;

13 thou dost certainly give back to him the pledge at the going in of the sun, and he hath lain down in his own raiment, and hath blessed thee; and to thee it is righteousness before Jehovah thy God.

14 `Thou dost not oppress a hireling, poor and needy, of thy brethren or of thy sojourner who is in thy land within thy gates;

15 in his day thou dost give his hire, and the sun doth not go in upon it, for he [is] poor, and unto it he is lifting up his soul, and he doth not cry against thee unto Jehovah, and it hath been in thee -- sin.

16 `Fathers are not put to death for sons, and sons are not put to death for fathers -- each for his own sin, they are put to death.

17 `Thou dost not turn aside the judgment of a fatherless sojourner, nor take in pledge the garment of a widow;

18 and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in Egypt, and Jehovah thy God doth ransom thee from thence; therefore I am commanding thee to do this thing.

19 `When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and hast forgotten a sheaf in a field, thou dost not turn back to take it; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is; so that Jehovah thy God doth bless thee in all the work of thy hands.

20 `When thou beatest thine olive, thou dost not examine the branch behind thee; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is.

21 `When thou cuttest thy vineyard, thou dost not glean behind thee; to the sojourner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, it is;

22 and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding thee to do this thing.

25 `When there is a strife between men, and they have come nigh unto the judgment, and they have judged, and declared righteous the righteous, and declared wrong the wrong-doer,

then it hath come to pass, if the wrong-doer is to be smitten, that the judge hath caused him to fall down, and [one] hath smitten him in his presence, according to the sufficiency of his wrong-doing, by number;

forty [times] he doth smite him -- he is not adding, lest, he is adding to smite him above these -- many stripes, and thy brother is lightly esteemed in thine eyes.

`Thou dost not muzzle an ox in its threshing.

`When brethren dwell together, and one of them hath died, and hath no son, the wife of the dead is not without to a strange man; her husband's brother doth go in unto her, and hath taken her to him for a wife, and doth perform the duty of her husband's brother;

and it hath been, the first-born which she beareth doth rise for the name of his dead brother, and his name is not wiped away out of Israel.

`And if the man doth not delight to take his brother's wife, then hath his brother's wife gone up to the gate, unto the elders, and said, My husband's brother is refusing to raise up to his brother a name in Israel; he hath not been willing to perform the duty of my husband's brother;

and the elders of his city have called for him, and spoken unto him, and he hath stood and said, I have no desire to take her;

`Then hath his brother's wife drawn nigh unto him, before the eyes of the elders, and drawn his shoe from off his foot, and spat in his face, and answered and said, Thus it is done to the man who doth not build up the house of his brother;

10 and his name hath been called in Israel -- The house of him whose shoe is drawn off.

11 `When men strive together, one with another, and the wife of the one hath drawn near to deliver her husband out of the hand of his smiter, and hath put forth her hand, and laid hold on his secrets,

12 then thou hast cut off her hand, thine eye doth not spare.

13 `Thou hast not in thy bag a stone and a stone, a great and a small.

14 Thou hast not in thy house an ephah and an ephah, a great and a small.

15 Thou hast a stone complete and just, thou hast an ephah complete and just, so that they prolong thy days on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee;

16 for the abomination of Jehovah thy God [is] any one doing these things, any one doing iniquity.

17 `Remember that which Amalek hath done to thee in the way, in your going out from Egypt,

18 that he hath met thee in the way, and smiteth in all those feeble behind thee (and thou wearied and fatigued), and is not fearing God.

19 And it hath been, in Jehovah thy God's giving rest to thee, from all thine enemies round about, in the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- an inheritance to possess it -- thou dost blot out the rememberance of Amalek from under the heavens -- thou dost not forget.

Exclusion From the Assembly

23 [a]No one who has been emasculated(A) by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.

No one born of a forbidden marriage[b] nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.

No Ammonite(B) or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.(C) For they did not come to meet you with bread and water(D) on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam(E) son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim[c](F) to pronounce a curse on you.(G) However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse(H) into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves(I) you. Do not seek a treaty(J) of friendship with them as long as you live.(K)

Do not despise an Edomite,(L) for the Edomites are related to you.(M) Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country.(N) The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.

Uncleanness in the Camp

When you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure.(O) 10 If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there.(P) 11 But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset(Q) he may return to the camp.(R)

12 Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God moves(S) about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy,(T) so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.

Miscellaneous Laws

15 If a slave has taken refuge(U) with you, do not hand them over to their master.(V) 16 Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress(W) them.

17 No Israelite man(X) or woman is to become a shrine prostitute.(Y) 18 You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute[d] into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.(Z)

19 Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest.(AA) 20 You may charge a foreigner(AB) interest, but not a fellow Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless(AC) you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.

21 If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it,(AD) for the Lord your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin.(AE) 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty.(AF) 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the Lord your God with your own mouth.

24 If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket. 25 If you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to their standing grain.(AG)

24 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him(AH) because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce,(AI) gives it to her and sends her from his house, and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord(AJ) your God is giving you as an inheritance.

If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.(AK)

Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a person’s livelihood as security.(AL)

If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die.(AM) You must purge the evil from among you.(AN)

In cases of defiling skin diseases,[e] be very careful to do exactly as the Levitical(AO) priests instruct you. You must follow carefully what I have commanded them.(AP) Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt.(AQ)

10 When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge.(AR) 11 Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. 12 If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge(AS) in your possession. 13 Return their cloak by sunset(AT) so that your neighbor may sleep in it.(AU) Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God.(AV)

14 Do not take advantage of a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether that worker is a fellow Israelite or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.(AW) 15 Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor(AX) and are counting on it.(AY) Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.(AZ)

16 Parents are not to be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their parents; each will die for their own sin.(BA)

17 Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless(BB) of justice,(BC) or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. 18 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt(BD) and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.

19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it.(BE) Leave it for the foreigner,(BF) the fatherless and the widow,(BG) so that the Lord your God may bless(BH) you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time.(BI) Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 21 When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. 22 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.(BJ)

25 When people have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges(BK) will decide the case,(BL) acquitting(BM) the innocent and condemning the guilty.(BN) If the guilty person deserves to be beaten,(BO) the judge shall make them lie down and have them flogged in his presence with the number of lashes the crime deserves, but the judge must not impose more than forty lashes.(BP) If the guilty party is flogged more than that, your fellow Israelite will be degraded in your eyes.(BQ)

Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.(BR)

If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.(BS) The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.(BT)

However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife,(BU) she shall go to the elders at the town gate(BV) and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.”(BW) Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals,(BX) spit in his face(BY) and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” 10 That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.

11 If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, 12 you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.(BZ)

13 Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light.(CA) 14 Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small. 15 You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long(CB) in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.(CC)

17 Remember what the Amalekites(CD) did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. 18 When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.(CE) 19 When the Lord your God gives you rest(CF) from all the enemies(CG) around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek(CH) from under heaven. Do not forget!

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 23:1 In Hebrew texts 23:1-25 is numbered 23:2-26.
  2. Deuteronomy 23:2 Or one of illegitimate birth
  3. Deuteronomy 23:4 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  4. Deuteronomy 23:18 Hebrew of a dog
  5. Deuteronomy 24:8 The Hebrew word for defiling skin diseases, traditionally translated “leprosy,” was used for various diseases affecting the skin.