Deuteronomy 23:10-20

10 "¹If there is among you any man who is unclean * because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside * * the camp; he may not reenter * the camp.

11 "But it shall be when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown * he may reenter * the camp.

12 "You shall also have a place outside * the camp and go out there,

13 and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement.

14 "Since ²the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be ³holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you

15 "⁴You shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.

16 "He shall live with you in your midst, in the place which he shall choose in one of your towns where it pleases him; ⁵you shall not mistreat him.

17 "⁶None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, ⁷nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute.

18 "You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a ⁸dog into the house of the LORD your God for any votive offering, for both * of these are an abomination to the LORD your God.

19 "⁹You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest

20 "¹⁰You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that ¹¹the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.

Deuteronomy 23:10-20 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.

Cross References

• 1. Leviticus 15:16
• 2. Leviticus 26:12
• 3. Exodus 3:5
• 4. 1 Samuel 30:15
• 5. Exodus 22:21; Proverbs 22:22
• 6. Leviticus 19:29; Deuteronomy 22:21
• 7. Genesis 19:5; 2 Kings 23:7
• 8. Leviticus 18:22; Leviticus 20:13
• 9. Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-37; Nehemiah 5:2-7; Psalms 15:5
• 10. Deuteronomy 28:12
• 11. Deuteronomy 15:10

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "come to the midst of"
• [b] Lit "come to the midst of"
• [c] Lit "peg"
• [d] Lit "and"
• [e] Lit "give"
• [f] Lit "nakedness of anything"
• [g] Lit "and"
• [h] Lit "delivered himself"
• [i] Lit "gates"
• [j] I.e. male prostitute, sodomite
• [k] Lit "brother"
• [l] Lit "brother"
• [m] Lit "the putting forth of your hand"
• [n] Lit "possess it"