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Deuteronomy 23

KJV · Chapter 23/34

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

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.

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:

4Because 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.

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

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.

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

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

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:

11But 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.

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

13And 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:

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

23That 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.

24When 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.

25When 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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Moses establishes who may or may not be included in the 'congregation of the LORD,' hygiene laws for the military camp, protection for runaway slaves, a prohibition against cultic prostitution, rules about charging interest on loans to foreigners versus Israelites, and the seriousness of keeping vows made to God.

Explanation

The restrictions on who could fully participate in the 'congregation' (certain neighboring peoples hostile for generations) reflected specific historical memories of hostility (such as the Ammonites and Moabites refusing to help Israel in the wilderness), but even these restrictions were not absolute or eternal for every people — Edomites and Egyptians, for example, would be accepted after the third generation, showing gradations rather than a permanent, total exclusion. The prohibition against charging interest to a fellow Israelite (while permitting it with foreigners) sought to protect the community's internal economic solidarity, preventing Israelites from financially exploiting one another in times of need. The emphasis on the seriousness of vows ('that which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep') reinforces a recurring theme in Deuteronomy: the integrity of one's given word, both to God and between people, was fundamental for a covenant society to function with mutual trust.

Fun facts

  • The permission to eat grapes or grain from a neighbor's field while passing through it, but forbidding carrying any away in a vessel or using a sickle (v. 24-25), is the same principle behind Jesus' disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1), showing a biblical social practice still in effect in the first century.
  • Ruth the Moabitess would become the great-grandmother of King David despite the restriction against Moabites mentioned in this chapter (v. 3) — one of the most notable biblical examples of grace and inclusion overcoming legal ethnic barriers, showing how general principles sometimes gave way before circumstances of genuine faith and loyal integration into the community.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronomy 23:1Eunuchs, “bastards,” and peoples such as the Ammonites and Moabites were kept out of the assembly of Israel for many generations. In the case of the Moabites and Ammonites, the reason given in the next verse is historical: they did not help Israel in the wilderness and even hired Balaam to curse the people.
  2. Deuteronomy 23:2It restricts full participation in the religious community for descendants of an illegitimate union, for many generations.
  3. Deuteronomy 23:3Ammonites and Moabites were also kept out of the assembly of Israel, even after many generations.
  4. Deuteronomy 23:4The historical reason for this exclusion is the hostility of these peoples during the exodus, including hiring the prophet Balaam to curse Israel.
  5. Deuteronomy 23:5But God reversed the plan: instead of a curse, Balaam ended up pronouncing a blessing on Israel, because of God’s love for the people.
  6. Deuteronomy 23:6It reinforces permanent hostility toward these peoples: never seeking their peace or prosperity.
  7. Deuteronomy 23:7Edomites and Egyptians, however, receive different treatment, either as kin (Edom through Esau) or for having hosted Israel in the past.
  8. Deuteronomy 23:8Descendants of Edomites and Egyptians could enter the assembly as early as the third generation, showing a path toward inclusion.
  9. Deuteronomy 23:9It introduces purity rules for the military camp, beginning with a general call to proper conduct.
  10. Deuteronomy 23:10Whoever had a ritual uncleanness at night was to withdraw temporarily from the camp.
  11. Deuteronomy 23:11That person was to wash in the evening and only return to the camp after sunset.
  12. Deuteronomy 23:12The law about digging a hole outside the camp for one’s needs, with a shovel kept among one’s weapons, ties basic hygiene to the idea that God walks “in the midst of thy camp”: the camp had to stay clean because it was considered sacred space.
  13. Deuteronomy 23:13It commands carrying a specific tool for digging and covering one’s own waste, maintaining the camp’s hygiene.
  14. Deuteronomy 23:14The spiritual reason for this hygiene rule is that God walks in the midst of the camp — which is why it must be kept holy and clean.
  15. Deuteronomy 23:15It forbids returning to his former master a runaway slave who sought refuge in Israel.
  16. Deuteronomy 23:16That servant was to be free to live wherever he chose, without oppression.
  17. Deuteronomy 23:17It forbids cultic prostitution, both female and male, within the religion of Israel — a practice common in Canaanite worship.
  18. Deuteronomy 23:18It forbids using money earned through prostitution, even to fulfill a religious vow, since it was considered an abomination.
  19. Deuteronomy 23:19Charging interest was forbidden between Israelites, but allowed with foreigners: the logic was to protect fellow community members who borrowed from growing poverty, without extending that protection to business outside the group.
  20. Deuteronomy 23:20It allows charging interest to a foreigner, but never to a fellow Israelite — reinforcing the different treatment inside and outside the community.
  21. Deuteronomy 23:21It requires promptly fulfilling any vow made to God, because delay would be counted as sin.
  22. Deuteronomy 23:22It makes clear that making no vow at all is not a sin — the problem is promising and not following through.
  23. Deuteronomy 23:23It reinforces that a word freely given to God must be kept exactly as promised.
  24. Deuteronomy 23:24Anyone passing through a neighbor’s vineyard or grainfield could eat grapes or pluck ears of grain by hand to satisfy hunger on the spot, but could not carry any away in a container or use a sickle. It was permission for the hungry, not a license to harvest another person’s crop.
  25. Deuteronomy 23:25It allows plucking ears of grain by hand in another person’s field to eat, but forbids using a sickle to harvest in quantity — a survival right that stops short of becoming theft.

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