CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 23
Chapter 23 of 34
Chapter Overview
What happens in Deuteronomy 23
Moses continues giving Israel various laws about who may join the assembly of the Lord and rules for daily life, including fair treatment of others and keeping promises.
Scripture
Deuteronomy 23
Who May Enter the Assembly
Study note
Moses explains which people groups may and may not join the assembly of God's people. Some are permanently excluded, while others may join after several generations. These rules reflected the historical relationships between Israel and neighboring nations.
1 No man who has been hurt in a way that keeps him from having children may be part of the Lord's assembly. He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
2 No child born from a forbidden union may enter the Lord's assembly. This applies even to the tenth generation of that person's descendants. A 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.
3 No Ammonite or Moabite may ever join the Lord's gathering. Not even after ten ages. An 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:
4 Here is the reason. They refused to offer you food and water when you came out of Egypt. They also hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Mesopotamia to put a curse on you. 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.
5 But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. Instead, he flipped the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. Nevertheless 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.
6 Never try to make peace with the Ammonites or Moabites or help them prosper, for as long as you live. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
7 Do not look down on Edomites -- they are your relatives. Do not look down on Egyptians either -- you once lived as guests in their country. Thou 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 From the third age on, Edomite and Egyptian grandchildren may join the Lord's gathering. The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
Keeping the Camp Clean
Study note
When Israel goes to war, the camp must be kept clean and holy because God himself walks among them. These rules about cleanliness remind the people that God's presence demands reverence and order.
9 When your soldiers go out to fight, stay away from anything unclean. When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
10 If any soldier becomes unclean during the night, he must leave the camp and stay outside. If 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 In the evening he should wash himself. After the sun sets, he may come back into the camp. 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 Set up a spot outside the camp to use as a bathroom. Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
13 Keep a small shovel with your gear. When you go out to relieve yourself, dig a hole first and cover it up when you are finished. 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:
14 The Lord your God walks through your camp to keep you safe and to hand your enemies over to you. So keep your camp clean and proper, or he might see something offensive and turn away from you. For 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.
Various Laws for Daily Life
Study note
Moses gives a collection of laws covering the protection of runaway servants, purity within Israel, fair lending practices, keeping promises made to God, and the right to eat from a neighbor's field while passing through.
15 If a slave runs away from their master and comes to you, do not send them back. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:
16 Let them settle among you in whichever town they prefer. Do not mistreat them. He 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.
17 No Israelite — man or woman — may take part in shrine prostitution. There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
18 Never bring money earned through prostitution or any shameful practice into the Lord your God's house to pay a vow. The Lord your God considers both disgusting. Thou 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.
19 When you lend to a fellow Israelite, do not charge them extra. Not on money. Not on food. Not on anything else. Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
20 You may charge interest to a foreigner, but never to a fellow Israelite. Follow this rule and the Lord your God will bless everything you do in the land you are going to claim. Unto 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.
21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not drag your feet about keeping it. The Lord your God will hold you to it, and delay would be counted as sin. When 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 If you decide not to make a vow, that is perfectly fine -- no sin in that. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.
23 But whatever you say you will do, you must follow through, since you freely chose to make that promise to the Lord your God. 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 you walk through a neighbor's vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you want there. But do not fill up a basket or container to take home. 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 you walk through a neighbor's grain field, you may pick some heads of grain by hand. But do not swing a blade to cut their grain. 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.
Key Themes
Themes in Deuteronomy 23
Boundaries for the covenant communityHoliness in everyday lifeKeeping vows and promisesGenerosity and trust in community
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Deuteronomy 23:21-23 Matthew 5:33-37
The command to fulfill vows promptly points forward to Jesus' teaching to let your yes be yes and your no be no, living with such integrity that oaths become unnecessary.
Apply This Today
Living Deuteronomy 23
The laws about the camp's cleanliness remind Israel that God walks among them, so their daily environment should reflect His holiness. The prohibition against charging interest to fellow Israelites created an economy of mutual support rather than exploitation. Even in practical, earthy matters, God calls His people to live differently.
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