Deuteronomy 23
Doors Shut That He Would Later Open
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Incest with a Father’s Wife
23:1A man shall not take his father’s wife or uncover his father’s covering.
Assembly Membership Restrictions
23:2No man with crushed testicles or a severed organ shall enter the Lord’s assembly.
23:3One born of a prostitute shall not enter the Lord’s assembly.
Exclusion of the Ammonites and Moabites
23:4An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the Lord’s assembly; even to the tenth generation he shall not enter the Lord’s assembly, forever.
23:5For they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Mesopotamia to curse you.
23:6But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam. The Lord your God turned the curses into a blessing, because the Lord your God loved you.
23:7Do not address them with words of peace or advantage all your days, forever.
23:8Do not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a resident foreigner in his land.
23:9Children born to them may enter the Lord’s assembly in the third generation.
Purity of the Military Camp
23:10If you go out to encamp against your enemies, guard yourself from every evil thing.
23:11If a man among you is unclean because of his discharge at night, he shall go outside the camp and shall not enter it.
23:12As evening approaches, he shall wash his body with water; after sunset he may enter the camp.
23:13Have a place outside the camp where you may go out.
23:14Have a peg on your belt. When you squat outside, dig with it, then bring the earth over and cover your unseemliness with it.
23:15For the Lord your God walks through your camp to rescue you and hand your enemy over before you. Your camp must be holy. Nothing indecent is to be seen among you, lest He turn away from you.
Protection of Runaway Slaves
23:16Do not hand over to his master a slave who has joined you from his master.
23:17He shall live with you; he shall live among you in any place that pleases him. Do not afflict him.
Prohibition of Cult Prostitution and Tainted Gain
23:18No daughter of Israel shall be a prostitute, and no son of Israel shall practice prostitution.
No daughter of Israel shall be an initiation functionary, and no son of Israel shall undergo initiation.
23:19Do not bring a prostitute’s fee or what is received in exchange for a dog into the house of the Lord your God for any vow, for both are an abomination to the Lord your God.
Interest on Loans
23:20Do not charge your brother interest on silver, interest on food, or interest on anything you lend.
23:21You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your works in the land you are entering to inherit.
Fulfillment of Vows
23:22If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you would incur sin.
23:23But if you do not wish to make a vow, you incur no sin.
23:24Keep and perform what passes your lips, just as you vowed a gift to the Lord your God that you spoke with your mouth.
23:25If you enter your neighbor’s harvest, you may gather ears with your hands, but do not put a sickle to your neighbor’s harvest.
Neighborly Property Limits
23:26If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat grapes until your appetite is satisfied, but put none in a vessel.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.