0 SAB Deuteronomy 23

And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them. 7:2

Trivia: How big was king Og's bed?

Deuteronomy

CHAPTER 23

The congregation of the Lord
23:1-8

1He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

Moses continues his instructions to the Israelites, saying,
A man with wounded testicles or an amputated penis shall not enter God's congregation. [1]

2A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

A bastard shall not enter God's congregation, even to his tenth generation. [2]

3An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:

An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter God's congregation, even to his tenth generation, [3]

4 Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.

5Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.

because the Moabites hired Balaam to curse God. [4]

But God wouldn't listen to Balaam, and turned his curse into a blessing.

6Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

Don't ever seek the peace or prosperity of the Moabites.

7Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.

8 The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.

Don't abhor an Edomite. [5]

Edomite children shall enter the congregation in their third generation.

Personal hygiene: Wet dreams and defecation
23:9-14

9 When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.

When you go to war, keep away from wicked things.

10If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:

11 But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.

12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:

If a man is unclean because of something that happens to him at night, he shall wash himself with water. [6]

13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

Put a paddle on your weapon and use it to cover your feces when you defecate. [7]

14For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

Because God walks through the camp.

And if he happens to see some unholy unclean thing, he might turn and walk away from you and no longer fight for you against your enemies.

Runaway slaves
23:15-16

15Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:

16He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.

Don't return runaway slaves to their masters.

Let them live with you in peace and freedom. [8]

Whores and Sodomites
23:17-18

17There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.

18Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Don't bring any whore, sodomite, or dog into the house of God.

For these things are an abomination to God. [9]

Vows and usury
23:19-25

19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:

Don't charge unreasonably high interest when you loan money to another Hebrew.

20Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon usury: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

But usury is okay when you do it to strangers.

21When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.

23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

24 When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.

25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn.

If you make a vow to God, you must keep it. [10]
«
»

Copyright © 1999-2024
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible

Send comments to Steve Wells
at swwells(at)gmail.com