DeuteronomyChapter 23
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1No man whose private parts are crushed or cut off may join the assembly of the LORD. 2No one born of a forbidden marriage may join the assembly of the LORD. None of his descendants may join either, down to the tenth generation.a 3No Ammonite or Moabite may join the assembly of the LORD. None of their descendants may join either, down to the tenth generation. 4They did not come to meet you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. And they hired Balaam son of Beor to curse you. Balaam was from Pethor in Aram-naharaim. 5But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam. Instead, the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you. He did this because the LORD your God loves you. 6Never try to make peace with them or help them do well, as long as you live. 7Do not hate an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not hate an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land. 8The third generation of children born to them may join the assembly of the LORD. 9When your army is camped against your enemies, keep away from every evil thing. 10A man among you may become unclean because of a release of semen during the night. If so, he must go outside the camp and stay out. 11As evening comes, he must wash with water. When the sun sets, he may come back into the camp. 12Have a place outside the camp where you can go to the bathroom. 13Carry a digging tool with your gear. When you go to the bathroom, dig a hole. Then cover up your waste. 14The LORD your God walks around in your camp. He is there to protect you and to hand your enemies over to you. So your camp must be holy. Then he will not see anything unclean among you and turn away from you. 15A slave may run away from his master and come to you for safety. Do not send him back to his master. 16Let him live among you anywhere he chooses, in whatever town he likes. Do not treat him badly. 17No daughter or son of Israel may become a shrine prostitute. 18Do not bring the money a prostitute earns into the house of the LORD your God to pay for any vow. This is true for a female or a male prostitute. The LORD your God finds both of them disgusting.b 19Do not charge your brother interest. Do not charge interest on money, food, or anything else you lend. 20You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother. Then the LORD your God will bless everything you do in the land. You are going into that land to own it. 21If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it. He will surely make you keep it. If you don't, you will be guilty of sin. 22But if you choose not to make a vow, you will not be guilty of sin. 23Be careful to do what your lips have said. You chose to make a vow to the LORD your God. You made it with your own mouth. 24When you go into your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want. But do not put any in your basket. 25When you go into your neighbor's grain field, you may pick some heads of grain with your hand. But do not cut your neighbor's grain with a sickle.