Deuteronomy 23:11-21

11 {And then} toward the {coming} of the evening, he shall bathe with water, and at the going down of the sun, he may come to the midst of the camp.

12 "And there shall be for you a designated place outside the camp; {and you shall go there to relieve yourself},

13 and a digging tool shall [be included] in addition to your [other] utensils for yourself; {and then} {when you relieve yourself} outside [the camp] you shall dig with it, and [then] you shall turn, and you shall cover your excrement.

14 For Yahweh your God [is] walking about in the midst of your camp to deliver you and {to hand your enemies over to you before you}, and so let your camp be holy, so that he shall not see in it {anything indecent}, and he shall turn away {from going with you}.

15 "And you shall not hand over a slave to his master who has escaped [and fled] to you from his master.

16 He shall reside with you in your midst in the place that he chooses in one of {your towns wherever he pleases}; you shall not oppress him.

17 "No woman {of Israel} shall be a temple prostitute, and no man {of Israel} shall be a male shrine prostitute.

18 You may not bring the {hire} of a prostitute or {the earnings of a male prostitute} [into] the house of Yahweh your God, for any vow offerings, because {both} are a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.

19 "{You shall not charge your brother interest on money}, interest on food, or interest on anything that one could lend on interest

20 You may lend on interest to the foreigner, but to your countryman you may not lend on interest, so that Yahweh your God may bless you {in all your undertakings} in {the land where you are going}, {in order to take possession of it}.

21 "{When you make a vow} to Yahweh your God, you shall not postpone {fulfillment of it}, [for] certainly Yahweh your God shall require it from you and [if postponed] {you will incur guilt}.

Deuteronomy 23:11-21 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 23

Orders are here given to restrain certain persons from entering into the congregation of the Lord, De 23:1-8, and to take care that there be no unclean person in the camp, or any indecent thing done in it, De 23:9-14, to protect fugitive servants, and not deliver them up to their masters, De 23:15,16 not to suffer a filthy person to be among them, or any filthy thing to be brought into the house of God for a vow, De 23:17,18, then follow some laws against usury, and for the payment of vows, De 23:19-23, and the chapter is concluded with some directions how to behave in a neighbour's vineyard, or standing corn, De 23:24,25.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "And it will happen/come about that"
• [b]. Literally "turning"
• [c]. Hebrew "in" but this is instrumental use of this preposition
• [d]. The verb can mean "coming/going" and here it means "going"
• [e]. Literally "and you shall go out there, outside [to relieve yourself]"
• [f]. Or "spade"
• [g]. Hebrew "utensil"
• [h]. Literally "and it will happen"
• [i]. Literally "at your sitting"
• [j]. Literally "to give your enemies to the face of you"
• [k]. Literally "nakedness of a thing"
• [l]. Literally "from behind/after you"
• [m]. Literally "in your gates good for him"
• [n]. Literally "from the daughters of Israel"
• [o]. Literally "from the sons of Israel"
• [p]. Literally "gift"
• [q]. Literally "the earnings of a dog"
• [r]. Literally "both, the two of them"
• [s]. Literally "You shall not lend on interest to your brother, interest of money"
• [t]. Hebrew "of"
• [u]. Hebrew "of"
• [v]. Or "can lend"
• [w]. Or "brother"
• [x]. Literally "in all the sending[s] out of your hand"
• [y]. Literally "the land that you [are] going there"
• [z]. Literally "to take possession"
• [aa]. Literally "When/if you vow a vow"
• [ab]. Literally "to fulfill it"
• [ac]. Literally "it shall become against you [as] sin"