Deuteronomy 23 - Expanded Bible (EXB)

The Lord’s People

23 No man who has had ·part of his sex organ [L his testicles crushed or his penis] cut off may come into the ·meeting to worship [assembly of] the Lord [Acts 8:26–40].

2 No one born ·to parents who were forbidden by law to marry [of a forbidden marriage] may come into the ·meeting to worship [assembly of] the Lord. The descendants for ten generations may not come in either.

3 No Ammonite or Moabite may come into the ·meeting to worship [assembly of] the Lord, and none of their descendants for ten generations may come in. 4 This is because the Ammonites and Moabites did not give you bread and water when you came out of Egypt. And they hired Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor in Northwest Mesopotamia, to put a curse on you [Num. 22–24]. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam. He ·turned [transformed; overturned] the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. 6 Don’t ·wish for [seek] their peace or ·success [prosperity] as long as you live.

7 Don’t ·hate [detest] Edomites; they are your ·close relatives [brothers; C descendants of Esau the brother of Jacob/Israel]. Don’t ·hate [detest] Egyptians, because you were ·foreigners [resident aliens] in their country [C during the time of Joseph, God’s people survived a famine in Egypt; Gen. 41–42]. 8 ·The great-grandchildren of these two peoples [L their children to the third generation] may come into the ·meeting to worship [assembly of] the Lord.

Keeping the Camp Clean

9 When you are camped ·in time of war [L against your enemies], keep away from ·unclean things [foulness; L a bad/evil thing; C referring to ritual uncleanness]. 10 If a man becomes unclean during the night, he must go outside the camp and not come back [C referring to an emission of semen; Lev. 15:16]. 11 But when evening comes, he must wash himself, and at sunset he may come back into the camp.

12 Choose a place outside the camp where people may go ·to relieve themselves [L outside]. 13 ·Carry a tent peg with you [L As part of your equipment have a tent peg/or trowel with you], and when you ·relieve yourself [squat; L sit], dig a hole and cover up your ·dung [excrement]. 14 The Lord your God ·moves [walks] around through your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies for you, so the camp must be holy. He must not see anything ·unclean [indecent] among you so that he will not leave you.

Other Laws

15 If an escaped slave comes to you, do not hand over the slave to his master. 16 Let the slave live with you anywhere he likes, in any ·town [gate] he chooses. Do not ·mistreat [oppress; exploit] him.

17 No Israelite ·man [L son] or ·woman [L daughter] must ever become a ·temple [sacred] prostitute. 18 Do not bring ·a male or female prostitute’s pay [L the pay of a prostitute or the price of a “dog”; C “dog” is probably a reference to a male temple prostitute] to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord your God to pay what you have ·promised [vowed] to the Lord, because the Lord your God ·hates [detests] ·prostitution [L both of them; C male and female temple prostitution].

19 If you loan your ·fellow Israelites [relatives; brothers] money or food or anything else, don’t make them pay back ·more than you loaned them [interest; Ex. 22:25; Lev. 25:36–37]. 20 You may charge foreigners, but not ·fellow Israelites [L your relatives/brothers]. Then the Lord your God will bless ·everything you do [your undertakings; L all that is sent out from your hand] in the land you are entering to ·take as your own [possess].

21 If you make a ·promise [vow] to give ·something [a vow] to the Lord your God [Lev. 7:16–17; Num. 30:2–17], do not ·be slow [delay] to pay it, because the Lord your God ·demands [will surely seek] it from you. Do not be guilty of sin. 22 But if you do not make the ·promise [vow], you will not be guilty. 23 You must do whatever ·you say you will do [L comes out of your lips], because you ·chose to make [L freely made with your own mouth] the ·promise [vow] to the Lord your God [Eccl. 5:4–5].

24 If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you wish, but do not put any grapes into your basket. 25 If you go into your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pick grain with your hands, but you must not cut down your neighbor’s grain with your sickle.

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Deuteronomy 23 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

23 `One wounded, bruised, or cut in the member doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; 2 a bastard doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even a tenth generation of him doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah. 3 `An Ammonite and a Moabite doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; e...
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Deuteronomy 23 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

23 A gelding when his stones be broken, either cut away, and his rod cut off, he shall not enter into the church of the Lord. (When a man is made a gelding, or a eunuch, that is, if his stones, or his ballocks, be broken, or cut off, or if his rod is cut off, he shall no longer be part of the Lord’s...
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Deuteronomy 23 - World English Bible (WEB)

23 He who is emasculated by crushing or cutting shall not enter into Yahweh’s assembly. 2 A person born of a forbidden union shall not enter into Yahweh’s assembly; even to the tenth generation shall no one of his enter into Yahweh’s assembly. 3 An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into Yahweh...
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Deuteronomy 23 - The Voice (VOICE)

The next group of laws describes certain people who may not come into the holy place to worship the Lord. This is the defining right of a member in good standing of the community, so the people described here are, in effect, being excluded from community membership itself. The reasons for exclusion ...
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Deuteronomy 23 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Persons Excluded from the Community23 “A man is not to take his father’s wife—he is not to expose his father’s nakedness. 2 “No one with crushed or cut-off genitals is to enter the community of Adonai. 3 No one born of forbidden relations[a] is to enter the community of Adonai—even to the tenth gen...
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Deuteronomy 23 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Those Excluded from the Assembly23 “He whose testicles are crushed or whose male member is cut off shall not enter the assembly of the Lord. 2 “No bastard shall enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord. 3 “No Ammonite o...
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Deuteronomy 23 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Those Excluded from the Assembly23 “He whose testicles are crushed or whose male member is cut off shall not enter the assembly of the Lord. 2 “No bastard shall enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord. 3 “No Ammonite o...
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Deuteronomy 23 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Those Excluded from the Assembly23 No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. 2 Those born of an illicit union shall not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted...
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Deuteronomy 23 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Those Excluded from the Assembly23 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall come into the assembly of the Lord.2 “Those born of an illicit union shall not come into the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall come into the assemb...
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Deuteronomy 23 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Regulations concerning Worship23 [a]“If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. 2 “If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. 3 “No Ammonite o...
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Deuteronomy 23 - New Life Version (NLV)

Those Who Cannot Go into the Meeting of the Lord23 “No man who has his sex part crushed or cut off will go into the meeting of the Lord. 2 No one who was born to parents who were not married will go into the meeting of the Lord. And none of his children will go into the meeting of the Lord, even to...
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Deuteronomy 23 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Those Excluded from the Congregation23 “He who is emasculated by crushing or mutilation shall (A)not enter the assembly of the Lord. 2 “One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the Lord. 3 (B)...
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Deuteronomy 23 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Exclusion from the assembly23 [a]No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord. 2 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. 3 No Ammonite or Moabite or any of t...
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Deuteronomy 23 - New International Version (NIV)

Exclusion From the Assembly23 [a]No one who has been emasculated(A) by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord. 2 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. 3 No Ammonite(B) or Moabite or an...
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Deuteronomy 23 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

Who Can Join in Worship With the Lord’s People?23 No man whose sex organs have been crushed or cut can join in worship with the Lord’s people. 2 No one born to an unmarried woman can join in worship with the Lord’s people. That also applies to the person’s children for all time to come. 3 The people...
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Deuteronomy 23 - New English Translation (NET)

Purity in Public Worship23 A man with crushed[a] or severed genitals[b] may not enter the assembly of the Lord.[c] 2 A person of illegitimate birth[d] may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so.[e] 3 No Ammonite or Moabite[f] may enter the assemb...
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