Deuteronomy 23
Camp hygiene laws maintain purity in military camps where God walks. Interest may not be charged to fellow Israelites, and vows must be fulfilled.
DeuteronomyChapter 23 of 3425 versesBerean Standard Bible
Read Deuteronomy 23 and keep notes on it in Doxa's Daily Faith Steps.
No man with crushed or severed genitals may enter the assembly of the LORD.
No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the LORD, nor may any of his descendants, even to the tenth generation.
No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.
For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
You are not to seek peace or prosperity from them as long as you live.
Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 49: How did Israel first hear the story of Jacob and Esau?
The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.
When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every wicked thing.
If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he must leave the camp and stay outside.
When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may return to the camp.
You must have a place outside the camp to go and relieve yourself.
And you must have a digging tool in your equipment so that when you relieve yourself you can dig a hole and cover up your excrement.
For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, lest He see anything unclean among you and turn away from you.
Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you.
Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.
No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.
You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.
Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.
You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything to which you put your hand in the land that you are entering to possess.
If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin.
Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not put any in your basket.
When you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.
Read next
How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Cross-references for Deuteronomy 23
Deuteronomy 23:5Deuteronomy 7:7
“The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.”
“What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.”
Deuteronomy 23:14Leviticus 26:12
“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.”
Deuteronomy 23:21Ecclesiastes 5:4
“When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, because He takes no pleasure in fools. Fulfill your vow.”
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, licensed CC BY.
Deuteronomy 23 on Doxa
- Why Jacob's Name Was a Warning Israel Had to Hear (Genesis 25:19–26) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 49
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