📖 Deuteronomy — Chapter 23 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Deuteronomy 23:1 He that is Rwounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
Deuteronomy 23:2 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.
Deuteronomy 23:3 An RAmmonite 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:
Deuteronomy 23:4 RBecause 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.
Deuteronomy 23:5 RNevertheless 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.
Deuteronomy 23:6 RThou shalt not seek their peace nor their Tprosperity all thy days for ever.
Deuteronomy 23:7 Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for Rhe is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land.
Deuteronomy 23:8 The children that are begotten of them shall Renter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
Deuteronomy 23:9 When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
Deuteronomy 23:10 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:
Deuteronomy 23:11 But it shall be, Rwhen evening Tcometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
Deuteronomy 23:12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
Deuteronomy 23:13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou Twilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and Rcover that which cometh from thee:
Deuteronomy 23:14 For the LORD thy God Rwalketh 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 Tunclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
Deuteronomy 23:15 Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:
Deuteronomy 23:16 He Rshall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it Tliketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
Deuteronomy 23:17 RThere shall be no Twhore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
Deuteronomy 23:18 Thou shalt not bring the Rhire 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.
Deuteronomy 23:19 Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury:
Deuteronomy 23:20 Unto Ra 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.
Deuteronomy 23:21 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.
Deuteronomy 23:22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee.
Deuteronomy 23:23 RThat 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.
Deuteronomy 23:24 When thou comest into thy neighbour’s vineyard, then Rthou mayest eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure; but thou shalt not put any in thy vessel.
Deuteronomy 23:25 When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, Rthen thou mayest pluck the ears with thine hand; but thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour’s standing corn.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 23:1–8 — Israel's assembly and remembered treatment
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Moses gives instructions concerning entry into Israel's congregation, recalling different nations' conduct toward Israel. The Edomite and Egyptian are treated differently from Ammon and Moab.
Key Truth: The passage connects its assembly instructions with Israel's remembered history.
Check What You Remember
1. Which two peoples are named together as excluded in these instructions? (Deuteronomy 23:3)
Find it in Deuteronomy 23:3 (KJV).
2. Who was hired to curse Israel? (Deuteronomy 23:4)
Find it in Deuteronomy 23:4 (KJV).
3. Into what did the LORD turn the curse? (Deuteronomy 23:5)
Find it in Deuteronomy 23:5 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 23:9–16 — The camp and refuge for a servant
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The camp is to be kept clean because the LORD walks in its midst. An escaped servant is not to be returned to his master and may dwell where he chooses.
Key Truth: The instructions join camp responsibility with protection of the escaped servant.
Check What You Remember
1. Was the place for bodily needs to be inside or outside the camp? (Deuteronomy 23:12)
Find it in Deuteronomy 23:12 (KJV).
2. Who walked in the midst of Israel's camp? (Deuteronomy 23:14)
Find it in Deuteronomy 23:14 (KJV).
3. Should an escaped servant be delivered back to his master? (Deuteronomy 23:15)
Find it in Deuteronomy 23:15 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 23:17–25 — Money, vows, and a neighbor's produce
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Moses addresses prohibited earnings, lending, vows, and limited use of a neighbor's crops. Permission to eat does not grant permission to take a harvest away.
Key Truth: A limited permission does not erase a neighbor's ownership.
Check What You Remember
1. Should a vow to the LORD be paid without delay? (Deuteronomy 23:21)
Find it in Deuteronomy 23:21 (KJV).
2. Could a visitor put a neighbor's grapes in a vessel to carry away? (Deuteronomy 23:24)
Find it in Deuteronomy 23:24 (KJV).
3. What tool could not be used in a neighbor's standing corn? (Deuteronomy 23:25)
Find it in Deuteronomy 23:25 (KJV).
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What two actions explain the exclusion of Ammon and Moab?
2. Why did the LORD turn Balaam’s curse into blessing?
3. What reasons govern the treatment of Edomites and Egyptians?
4. How is an escaped servant to be treated?
5. What distinction does the chapter make about a vow?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
Loading your notes…
Chapter Navigation