Deuteronomy 23
Deuteronomy 23 contains regulations concerning participation in the assembly, cleanliness in the military camp, protection of escaped slaves, prohibition of certain cultic practices, interest, vows, and limited use of a neighbor’s crops. The chapter is concerned with holiness, social order, and restraint within the covenant community.
1verseHe who is emasculated by crushing or cutting shall not enter into the LORD’s assembly.
2verseA 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.
3verseAn 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,
4versebecause 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.
5verseNevertheless 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.
6verseYou shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.
7verseYou 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.
8verseThe children of the third generation who are born to them may enter into the LORD’s assembly.
9verseWhen you go out and camp against your enemies, then you shall keep yourselves from every evil thing.
10verseIf 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;
11versebut it shall be, when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water. When the sun is down, he shall come within the camp.
12verseYou shall have a place also outside of the camp where you go relieve yourself.
13verseYou 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;
14versefor 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.
15verseYou shall not deliver to his master a servant who has escaped from his master to you.
16verseHe 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.
17verseThere shall be no prostitute of the daughters of Israel, neither shall there be a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18verseYou 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.
19verseYou shall not lend on interest to your brother: interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent on interest.
20verseYou 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.
21verseWhen 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.
22verseBut if you refrain from making a vow, it shall be no sin in you.
23verseYou 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.
24verseWhen 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.
25verseWhen 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.
Rules for the Assembly and Cleanliness
Verses 1–8 discuss who may enter the assembly of the LORD, including restrictions connected to bodily condition, ancestry, and relations with surrounding peoples. Verses 9–14 address cleanliness in the war camp, including bodily emissions and sanitation, because the camp is described as a place where the LORD walks among the people.
Protection, Worship, and Justice
Verses 15–16 command that an escaped slave must not be returned to the master, but may live in the place chosen within Israel. Verses 17–18 prohibit cultic prostitution and the use of such earnings for offerings. Verses 19–20 regulate interest, especially in relation to fellow Israelites, and verses 21–23 stress that vows made to the LORD must be kept.
Vows, Neighborly Freedom, and Restraint
The final verses allow someone passing through a neighbor’s vineyard or grainfield to eat enough by hand, but not to carry away produce in a container or use a sickle. The law balances generosity with self-control and respect for another person’s property.
Meditation Points
- How does the chapter hold together holiness, bodily life, and social responsibility?
- What does the law about the escaped slave reveal about protection from exploitation?
- How can freedom be practiced with restraint rather than entitlement?
Apply It to Yourself
- Consider how your use of freedom affects the safety and property of others.
- Take vows, promises, and commitments seriously rather than speaking carelessly.
- Look for ways to protect vulnerable people instead of returning them to harmful situations.
