Deuteronomy 23

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

2 A person born of a forbidden union shall not enter into the LORD’s assembly; even to the tenth generation shall no one of his enter into the LORD’s assembly.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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;

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.

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

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;

14 for the LORD 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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

Around Deuteronomy 23

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Deuteronomy 23 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Who may come into the assembly of the LORD, and who may not? Moses gives a list that is hard to read. A man who has been emasculated, a person born of a forbidden union, an Ammonite or a Moabite are all kept out, the last because they did not meet Israel with bread and water and hired Balaam to curse them. But the LORD turned the curse into a blessing, because he loved Israel. An Edomite is a brother, an Egyptian was a host, and their grandchildren may enter.

Then the camp. Because the LORD walks in the middle of it, it is to be kept holy, and Moses even gives instructions about a trowel to cover waste.

There is also mercy. A servant who has escaped from his master is not to be returned and not to be oppressed. A brother is not to be charged interest. A vow is to be paid, and a hungry traveler may eat grapes from a neighbor's vineyard, though not carry any away.

Background

The rules for the assembly are not the last word in Scripture. Isaiah 56 speaks of foreigners and eunuchs who hold fast to the covenant, and the book of Ruth tells of a Moabite woman welcomed into Israel's story and into the line of David. The verse about an escaped servant stands out in the ancient world, and many readers have linked it to later arguments about slavery. Verse 17 uses a word that readers translate in more than one way.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 26 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes