Deuteronomy 23

1 He who is emasculated by crushing or cutting shall not enter into Yahweh’s assembly.

No man whose genitals have been damaged or cut off is allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary.

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.

No one of mixed race is allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary, and none of his descendants may do so either, up to the tenth generation.

3 An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into Yahweh’s assembly; even to the tenth generation shall no one belonging to them enter into Yahweh’s assembly forever,

No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants are allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary, up to the tenth generation.

4 because they didn’t meet you with bread and with 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.

For they did not come to meet you with food and water on your journey from Egypt, and they hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor in Mesopotamia, to curse you.

5 Nevertheless Yahweh your God wouldn’t listen to Balaam, but Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because Yahweh your God loved you.

But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. The Lord your God turned what was meant to be a curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you.

6 You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.

Don't arrange a peace treaty with them or help them out as long as you live.

7 You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.

Don't look down on an Edomite, for they are your relatives. Don't look down on an Egyptian either, because you lived as foreigners in their country.

8 The children of the third generation who are born to them may enter into Yahweh’s assembly.

The third generation of their children are allowed to enter the Lord's sanctuary.

9 When you go out and camp against your enemies, then you shall keep yourselves from every evil thing.

When you are in an army camp during a war with your enemies, make sure you avoid anything wrong.

10 If there is among you any man who is not clean by reason of that which happens to him by night, then shall he go outside of the camp. He shall not come within the camp;

Any man there who becomes unclean because of a release of semen must leave the camp and remain outside.

11 but it shall be, when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water. When the sun is down, he shall come within the camp.

Towards the end of the day he must wash himself with water, and at sunset he may return to the camp.

12 You shall have a place also outside of the camp where you go relieve yourself.

Choose a place outside the camp to be used as a toilet.

13 You shall have a trowel among your weapons. It shall be, when you relieve yourself, you shall dig with it, and shall turn back and cover your excrement;

You need to have a spade as part of your equipment so that you can dig a hole, and then when you're finished you can cover up your excrement.

14 for Yahweh your God walks in the middle of your camp, to deliver you, and to give up your enemies before you. Therefore your camp shall be holy, that he may not see an unclean thing in you, and turn away from you.

The Lord your God is present with you in your camp to keep you safe and to defeat your enemies. Your camp must be kept holy, because if he sees anything unclean among you and he will leave you.

15 You shall not deliver to his master a servant who has escaped from his master to you.

Don't send a slave back to their master if they have come to you for protection.

16 He shall dwell with you, among you, in the place which he shall choose within one of your gates, where it pleases him best. You shall not oppress him.

Let the slave live in your country wherever they want, in whatever town they want. Don't mistreat them.

17 There shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel.

No Israelite women or men are to be cult prostitutes.

18 You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute, or the wages of a male prostitute, into the house of Yahweh your God for any vow; for both of these are an abomination to Yahweh your God.

Don't bring into the house of the Lord your God any money from a prostitute, whether a woman or a man, using it to fulfill a promise to the Lord, for both are offensive to the Lord your God.

19 You shall not lend on interest to your brother: interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent on interest.

Don't charge a fellow Israelite interest on money, food, or any other kind of loan.

20 You may charge a foreigner interest; but you shall not charge your brother interest, that Yahweh your God may bless you in all that you put your hand to, in the land where you go in to possess it.

You may charge a foreigner interest, but not an Israelite, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do in the country that you are going in to occupy.

21 When you vow a vow to Yahweh your God, you shall not be slack to pay it, for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.

If you make a promise to the Lord your God, don't be slow in keeping it, because he will definitely demand that you fulfill it and you will be guilty of sin if you don't.

22 But if you refrain from making a vow, it shall be no sin in you.

If you don't make such promises then you won't be guilty of sin.

23 You shall observe and do that which has gone out of your lips. Whatever you have vowed to Yahweh your God as a free will offering, which you have promised with your mouth, you must do.

But make sure to carry out what you've said to the Lord your God, because it was you who freely chose to make such a promise.

24 When you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat your fill of grapes at your own pleasure; but you shall not put any in your container.

When you walk through your neighbor's vineyard, you can eat as many grapes as you want, but you must not collect any to take with you.

25 When you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the ears with your hand; but you shall not use a sickle on your neighbor’s standing grain.

When you walk through your neighbor's grainfield, you may pick the ears of grain with your hand, but you must not use a sickle to harvest it.