1 H e who is emasculated by crushing or cutting shall not enter into Yahweh’s assembly.

“No man who has his sex part crushed or cut off will go into the meeting of the Lord.

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

No one who was born to parents who were not married will go into the meeting of the Lord. And none of his children will go into the meeting of the Lord, even to the children’s children of ten families in the future.

3 A n Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into Yahweh’s assembly; even to the tenth generation shall no one belonging to them enter into Yahweh’s assembly forever;

No Ammonite or Moabite will go into the meeting of the Lord. None of their children will go into the meeting of the Lord, even to the children’s children of ten families of the future,

4 b ecause 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.

because they did not meet you with food and water on your way from Egypt, and they paid Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia to curse you.

5 N evertheless Yahweh your God wouldn’t listen to Balaam; but Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because Yahweh your God loved you.

But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam. Instead He changed the curse into good for you, because the Lord your God loves you.

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

Do nothing for their peace or their well-being all your days.

7 Y ou 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.

“Do not hate an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not hate an Egyptian. For you were a stranger in his land.

8 T he children of the third generation who are born to them may enter into Yahweh’s assembly.

Their great-grandchildren may go into the meeting of the Lord. The Camp Is to Be Clean

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

“When you go as an army against those who hate you, keep yourself away from every sinful thing.

10 I f there is among you any man who is not clean by reason of that which happens him by night, then shall he go outside of the camp. He shall not come within the camp;

If there is any man among you who is unclean because he had a flow from his body during the night, he must go away from the tents. He must not come among the tents.

11 b ut it shall be, when evening comes, he shall bathe himself in water. When the sun is down, he shall come within the camp.

When evening comes he must wash his body with water. And when the sun goes down he may return to the tents.

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

“You should have a place to go away from the tents.

13 Y ou 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;

You should have a tool there to dig with. Use it to dig a hole when you sit down outside. Then use it to cover the waste from your body.

14 f or Yahweh 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.

Because the Lord your God walks among your tents to set you free and make you win the battle against those who hate you, the place where your tents are must be holy. He must not see anything among you that is unclean and turn away from you. Different Laws

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

“If a servant runs away from his owner and comes to you, do not return him to his owner.

16 H e 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.

Let him stay with you, in the place he chooses in one of your towns, where it pleases him. Do not make it hard for him.

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

“No daughter of Israel is to sell the use of her body in worship to a strange god. And no son of Israel is to sell the use of his body for a strange god.

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

You must not bring the pay of a woman who sells the use of her body or of a man who does sex sins into the house of the Lord your God for any promised gift. For the Lord your God hates both of these.

19 Y ou shall not lend on interest to your brother; interest of money, interest of food, interest of anything that is lent on interest.

Do not make your brothers pay you for the use of money, food, or anything you might give them to use.

20 Y ou may lend on interest to a foreigner; but to your brother you shall not lend on interest, that Yahweh your God may bless you in all that you put your hand to, in the land where you go in to possess it.

You may make a stranger pay you for the use of money, but not your brother. So the Lord your God may bring good to you in all you do in the land you are going into to have for your own.

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

“When you make a promise to the Lord your God, do not be slow to pay it. It would be sin in you, for the Lord your God will be sure to ask you for it.

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

But if you do not make a promise, it would not be sin in you.

23 Y ou shall observe and do that which has gone out of your lips. Whatever you have vowed to Yahweh your God as a freewill offering, which you have promised with your mouth, you must do.

Be careful to do what you say you are going to do. Keep the promise you have made to the Lord your God because you want to.

24 W hen you come into your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat of grapes your fill at your own pleasure; but you shall not put any in your container.

“When you go into your neighbor’s grape-field, you may eat grapes until you are full. But do not put any in your basket.

25 W hen you come into your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the ears with your hand; but you shall not move a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.

When you go into your neighbor’s grain field, you may pick the heads with your hand. But do not cut down any of your neighbor’s standing grain.