Exclusion from the Congregation 1 UST No man with crushed testicles or a severed penis may worship with Yahweh’ s people. BSB BSB: No man with crushed or severed genitals may enter the assembly of the LORD.
2 UST No child of an Israelite father and a non- Israelite mother or his descendants, extending to the tenth generation, may worship with Yahweh’ s people. BSB BSB: No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the LORD, nor may any of his descendants, even to the tenth generation.
3 UST No Ammonites or Moabites may worship with Yahweh’ s people, extending to the tenth generation. BSB BSB: No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even to the tenth generation.
4 UST One reason for this is that their leaders refused to give you food and water when they were traveling from the nation of Egypt{ to the region of Canaan}. Another reason is that they paid Balaam son of Beor from the town of Pethor in the region of Aram Naharaim to curse you Israelites. BSB BSB: For they did not meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to curse you.
5 UST But Yahweh our God did not pay attention to Balaam; instead, he caused Balaam to bless you rather than curse you, because Yahweh our God loves you. BSB BSB: Yet the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam, and the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.
6 UST As long as Israel is a nation, you must not do anything to cause things to go well for those two people groups to enable them to prosper. BSB BSB: You are not to seek peace or prosperity from them as long as you live.
7 UST But do not despise any Edomites, because they are descendants of your ancestor Isaac, just like you are. Likewise, do not despise people from Egypt, because they treated your ancestors well when they first lived in Egypt. BSB BSB: Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land.
8 UST The grandchildren of people from Edom and Egypt who live among you now may worship with Yahweh’ s people. BSB BSB: The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.
Uncleanness in the Camp (Leviticus 15:1–12)
9 UST When your fighting men are living in a camp in time of war, they must avoid doing things that would make them unacceptable to God. BSB BSB: When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every wicked thing.
10 UST If any soldier becomes unacceptable to God because semen comes out of his body during the night, the next morning he must go outside the camp and stay there during that day. BSB BSB: If any man among you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he must leave the camp and stay outside.
11 UST But in the evening of that day he must bathe, and at sunset he will be allowed to come back into the camp. BSB BSB: When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may return to the camp.
12 UST Your fighting men must have a toilet area outside the camp where you can go when you need to. BSB BSB: You must have a place outside the camp to go and relieve yourself.
13 UST { When you go to fight against your enemies,} carry something to dig with along with your weapons, in order that when you need to defecate, you can dig a hole, and then cover up the hole when you have finished defecating in it. BSB BSB: And you must have a digging tool in your equipment so that when you relieve yourself you can dig a hole and cover up your excrement.
14 UST You must keep the camp acceptable to Yahweh our God, because he is with you in your camp to protect you and to enable you to defeat your enemies. Do not do anything disgraceful that would cause Yahweh to abandon you. BSB BSB: For the LORD your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, lest He see anything unclean among you and turn away from you.
Miscellaneous Laws 16 UST Allow them to stay among you, in whatever town they choose because they like it, and do not mistreat them. BSB BSB: Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.
17 UST Do not allow any Israelite man or woman to become religious prostitutes. BSB BSB: No daughter or son of Israel is to be a shrine prostitute.
18 UST Also, do not allow any woman who earned money from being a prostitute or any man who earned money being a homosexual prostitute to bring any of that money into the temple of Yahweh our God, even if they solemnly promised to pay that money to him. Both of these sexual practices are disgusting to Yahweh our God. BSB BSB: You must not bring the wages of a prostitute, whether female or male, into the house of the LORD your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the LORD your God.
19 UST When you lend money or food or anything else to a fellow Israelite, do not charge them interest. BSB BSB: Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.
20 UST You are allowed to charge interest when you lend money to foreigners, but not when you lend money to Israelites. Do this in order that Yahweh our God will bless you in everything that you do in the land that you are about to enter and occupy. BSB BSB: You may charge a foreigner interest, but not your brother, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything to which you put your hand in the land that you are entering to possess.
21 UST When you solemnly promise to give something to Yahweh your God or to do something for him, do not delay in doing it. Yahweh expects you to do what you promised, and if you do not do it, you will be sinning. BSB BSB: If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.
22 UST But it is not sinful not to solemnly promise things to Yahweh. BSB BSB: But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin.
23 UST But if you voluntarily promise to do something for Yahweh our God, you must surely do it. BSB BSB: Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
24 UST When you walk through someone else’ s vineyard, you are allowed to{ pick and} eat as many grapes as you want, but you must not put any in a container{ and take them away}. BSB BSB: When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, but you must not put any in your basket.
25 UST When you walk along a path in someone else’ s field of grain, you are allowed to pluck some of the grain by hand{ and eat it}, but you must not cut any of his grain with a sickle. BSB BSB: When you enter your neighbor’s grainfield, you may pluck the heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor’s grain.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.