Deuteronomy23
New American Standard
1“No one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off may enter the assembly of the Lord.
2No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the Lord; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter the assembly of the Lord.
3No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the assembly of the Lord,
4because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
5Nevertheless, the Lord your God was unwilling to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.
6You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.
7“You shall not loathe an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not loathe an Egyptian, because you were a stranger in his land.
8The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the Lord.
9“When you go out as an army against your enemies, you shall be on guard against every evil thing.
10“If there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not reenter the camp.
11But when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may reenter the camp.
12“You shall also have a place allocated outside the camp, so that you may go out there to relieve yourself,
13and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn and cover up your excrement.
14Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to save you and to defeat your enemies before you, your camp must be holy; so He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.
15“You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.
16He shall live with you in your midst, in the place that he chooses in one of your towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.
17“None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute.
18You shall not bring the earnings of a prostitute or the money for a dog into the house of the Lord your God as payment for any vowed offering, because both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.
19“You are not to charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned on interest.
20You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.
21“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for the Lord your God will certainly require it of you, and it will be a sin for you.
22However, if you refrain from making vows, it will not be a sin for you.
23You shall be careful and perform what goes out of your lips, since in fact you have vowed a voluntary offering to the Lord your God, whatever you have promised.
24“When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat grapes until you are satisfied; but you are not to put any in your basket.
25“When you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you are not to use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 23.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Who are shut out from the congregation. (1–8). Cleanliness enjoined. (15–25). Of fugitive servants, Usury, and other precepts. (9–14).
vv1-8
We ought to value the privileges of God's people, both for ourselves and for our children, above all other advantages. No personal blemishes, no crimes of our forefathers, no difference of nation, shuts us out under the Christian dispensation. But an unsound heart will deprive us of blessings; and a bad example, or an unsuitable marriage, may shut our children from them.
vv9-14
The camp of the Lord must have nothing offensive in it. If there must be this care taken to preserve the body clean, much more should we be careful to keep the mind pure.
vv15-25
It is honourable to shelter and protect the weak, provided they are not wicked. Proselytes and converts to the truth, should be treated with particular tenderness, that they may have no temptation to return to the world. We cannot honour God with our substance, unless it be honestly and honourably come by. It must not only be considered what we give, but how we got it. Where the borrower gets, or hopes to get, it is just that the lender should share the gain; but to him that borrows for necessary food, pity must be showed. That which is gone out of thy lips, as a solemn and deliberate vow, must not be recalled, but thou shalt keep and perform it punctually and fully. They were allowed to pluck and eat of the corn or grapes that grew by the road side; only they must not carry any away. This law intimated what great plenty of corn and wine they should have in Canaan. It provided for the support of poor travellers, and teaches us to be kind to such, teaches us to be ready to distribute, and not to think every thing lost that is given away. Yet it forbids us to abuse the kindness of friends, or to take advantage of what is allowed. Faithfulness to their engagements should mark the people of God; and they should never encroach upon others.
Key Words
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
שׇׁפְכָה: a pipe (for pouring forth, e.g. wine), i.e. the penis
כָּרַת: to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces)
בּוֹא: to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)
קָהָל: assemblage (usually concretely)
מַמְזֵר: a mongrel, i.e. born of aJewish father and aheathen mother
עֲשִׂירִי: tenth; by abbreviation, tenth month or (feminine) part
דּוֹר: properly, a revolution of time, i.e. an age or generation; also a dwelling
עַמּוֹנִי: an Ammonite or (the adjective) Ammonitish
מוֹאָבִי: a Moabite or Moabitess, i.e. a descendant from Moab
Cross References
Deuteronomy 23Nehemiah reads this law and explicitly separates the mixed multitude (Ammonites and Moabites) from Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Details Balak sending for Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor to curse Israel.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Prophesies a future day when the eunuch and stranger will not say, 'I am a dry tree.'
Supported by Matthew Poole
Defines the ceremonial law and purification ritual for uncleanness that chanceth a man by night.
Supported by John Calvin
Parallels the prohibition against lending to a poor brother upon usury or taking increase.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
The foundational law regarding the binding nature of vows made to the Lord.
Supported by JFB
Exhorts: 'When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it.'
Supported by Matthew Henry
Jesus' disciples pluck ears of corn to eat, exercising the very privilege permitted in this law.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Jephthah, born of a harlot, is cast out of his father's house, illustrating the social stigma.
Supported by Matthew Poole
God appeals to Israel to remember Balaam's consultation and how God answered him.
Supported by JFB
Reminds Israel that the Edomites are their brethren, the children of Esau.
Supported by JFB
Paul returns the runaway slave Onesimus to Philemon, showing a contrast under Christian love.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Commandment not to vex or oppress a stranger, reflecting the gentle treatment of escaped servants.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Strictly forbids turning daughters into whores, keeping the land from falling to wickedness.
Supported by Matthew Poole