✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Deuteronomio 23

VBL · Chapter 23/34

1Ningún hombre cuyos genitales hayan sido dañados o cortados puede entrar en el santuario del Señor.

2A nadie de raza mixta se le permite entrar en el santuario del Señor, y ninguno de sus descendientes puede hacerlo tampoco, hasta la décima generación.

3Ningún amonita o moabita o cualquiera de sus descendientes puede entrar en el santuario del Señor, hasta la décima generación.

4Porque no vinieron a recibiros con comida y agua en su viaje desde Egipto, y contrataron a Balaam, hijo de Beor, de Petor en Mesopotamia, para maldeciros.

5Pero el Señor tu Dios se negó a escuchar a Balaam. El Señor tu Dios convirtió lo que debía ser una maldición en una bendición para ti porque el Señor tu Dios te ama.

6No organices un tratado de paz con ellos ni les ayudes mientras vivas.

7No desprecies a los edomitas, porque son tus parientes. Tampoco desprecies a un egipcio, porque viviste como extranjero en su país.

8A la tercera generación de sus hijos se les permite entrar en el santuario del Señor.

9Cuando estén en un campamento del ejército durante una guerra con sus enemigos, asegúrense de evitar todo lo malo.

10Cualquier hombre que se vuelva impuro por una liberación de semen debe abandonar el campamento y permanecer fuera.

11Al final del día debe lavarse con agua, y al atardecer puede volver al campamento.

12Elija un lugar fuera del campamento para ser usado como baño.

13Debe tener una pala como parte de su equipo para que pueda cavar un agujero, y luego cuando termine puede cubrir sus excrementos.

14El Señor tu Dios está presente contigo en tu campamento para mantenerte a salvo y para derrotar a tus enemigos. Tu campamento debe mantenerse sagrado, porque si ve algo impuro entre ustedes, los abandonaré.

15No envíes a un esclavo de vuelta a su amo si ha venido a ti en busca de protección.

16Deja que el esclavo viva en tu país donde quiera, en el pueblo que quiera. No lo maltrates.

17Ninguna mujer ni hombre israelita debe ser una prostituta de culto.

18No traigas a la casa del Señor tu Dios ningún dinero de una prostituta, ya sea mujer u hombre, con el fin de cumplir una promesa al Señor, porque ambos son ofensivos para el Señor tu Dios.

19No le cobres a un compañero israelita intereses por dinero, comida o cualquier otro tipo de préstamo.

20Puedes cobrarle intereses a un extranjero, pero no a un israelita, para que el Señor tu Dios te bendiga en todo lo que hagas en el país que vas a ocupar.

21Si haces una promesa al Señor tu Dios, no tardes en cumplirla, porque él definitivamente te exigirá que la cumplas y serás culpable de pecado si no lo haces.

22Si no haces tales promesas entonces no serás culpable de pecado.

23Pero asegúrate de cumplir lo que le has dicho al Señor tu Dios, porque fuiste tú quien eligió libremente hacer tal promesa.

24Cuando camines por la viña de tu vecino, puedes comer tantas uvas como quieras, pero no debes recoger ninguna para llevarla contigo.

25Cuando camines por el campo de tu prójimo, podrás recoger las espigas con tu mano, pero no debes usar una hoz para cosecharlas.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Moses establishes who may or may not be included in the 'congregation of the LORD,' hygiene laws for the military camp, protection for runaway slaves, a prohibition against cultic prostitution, rules about charging interest on loans to foreigners versus Israelites, and the seriousness of keeping vows made to God.

Explanation

The restrictions on who could fully participate in the 'congregation' (certain neighboring peoples hostile for generations) reflected specific historical memories of hostility (such as the Ammonites and Moabites refusing to help Israel in the wilderness), but even these restrictions were not absolute or eternal for every people — Edomites and Egyptians, for example, would be accepted after the third generation, showing gradations rather than a permanent, total exclusion. The prohibition against charging interest to a fellow Israelite (while permitting it with foreigners) sought to protect the community's internal economic solidarity, preventing Israelites from financially exploiting one another in times of need. The emphasis on the seriousness of vows ('that which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep') reinforces a recurring theme in Deuteronomy: the integrity of one's given word, both to God and between people, was fundamental for a covenant society to function with mutual trust.

Fun facts

  • The permission to eat grapes or grain from a neighbor's field while passing through it, but forbidding carrying any away in a vessel or using a sickle (v. 24-25), is the same principle behind Jesus' disciples plucking grain on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1), showing a biblical social practice still in effect in the first century.
  • Ruth the Moabitess would become the great-grandmother of King David despite the restriction against Moabites mentioned in this chapter (v. 3) — one of the most notable biblical examples of grace and inclusion overcoming legal ethnic barriers, showing how general principles sometimes gave way before circumstances of genuine faith and loyal integration into the community.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronomio 23:1Eunuchs, “bastards,” and peoples such as the Ammonites and Moabites were kept out of the assembly of Israel for many generations. In the case of the Moabites and Ammonites, the reason given in the next verse is historical: they did not help Israel in the wilderness and even hired Balaam to curse the people.
  2. Deuteronomio 23:2It restricts full participation in the religious community for descendants of an illegitimate union, for many generations.
  3. Deuteronomio 23:3Ammonites and Moabites were also kept out of the assembly of Israel, even after many generations.
  4. Deuteronomio 23:4The historical reason for this exclusion is the hostility of these peoples during the exodus, including hiring the prophet Balaam to curse Israel.
  5. Deuteronomio 23:5But God reversed the plan: instead of a curse, Balaam ended up pronouncing a blessing on Israel, because of God’s love for the people.
  6. Deuteronomio 23:6It reinforces permanent hostility toward these peoples: never seeking their peace or prosperity.
  7. Deuteronomio 23:7Edomites and Egyptians, however, receive different treatment, either as kin (Edom through Esau) or for having hosted Israel in the past.
  8. Deuteronomio 23:8Descendants of Edomites and Egyptians could enter the assembly as early as the third generation, showing a path toward inclusion.
  9. Deuteronomio 23:9It introduces purity rules for the military camp, beginning with a general call to proper conduct.
  10. Deuteronomio 23:10Whoever had a ritual uncleanness at night was to withdraw temporarily from the camp.
  11. Deuteronomio 23:11That person was to wash in the evening and only return to the camp after sunset.
  12. Deuteronomio 23:12The law about digging a hole outside the camp for one’s needs, with a shovel kept among one’s weapons, ties basic hygiene to the idea that God walks “in the midst of thy camp”: the camp had to stay clean because it was considered sacred space.
  13. Deuteronomio 23:13It commands carrying a specific tool for digging and covering one’s own waste, maintaining the camp’s hygiene.
  14. Deuteronomio 23:14The spiritual reason for this hygiene rule is that God walks in the midst of the camp — which is why it must be kept holy and clean.
  15. Deuteronomio 23:15It forbids returning to his former master a runaway slave who sought refuge in Israel.
  16. Deuteronomio 23:16That servant was to be free to live wherever he chose, without oppression.
  17. Deuteronomio 23:17It forbids cultic prostitution, both female and male, within the religion of Israel — a practice common in Canaanite worship.
  18. Deuteronomio 23:18It forbids using money earned through prostitution, even to fulfill a religious vow, since it was considered an abomination.
  19. Deuteronomio 23:19Charging interest was forbidden between Israelites, but allowed with foreigners: the logic was to protect fellow community members who borrowed from growing poverty, without extending that protection to business outside the group.
  20. Deuteronomio 23:20It allows charging interest to a foreigner, but never to a fellow Israelite — reinforcing the different treatment inside and outside the community.
  21. Deuteronomio 23:21It requires promptly fulfilling any vow made to God, because delay would be counted as sin.
  22. Deuteronomio 23:22It makes clear that making no vow at all is not a sin — the problem is promising and not following through.
  23. Deuteronomio 23:23It reinforces that a word freely given to God must be kept exactly as promised.
  24. Deuteronomio 23:24Anyone passing through a neighbor’s vineyard or grainfield could eat grapes or pluck ears of grain by hand to satisfy hunger on the spot, but could not carry any away in a container or use a sickle. It was permission for the hungry, not a license to harvest another person’s crop.
  25. Deuteronomio 23:25It allows plucking ears of grain by hand in another person’s field to eat, but forbids using a sickle to harvest in quantity — a survival right that stops short of becoming theft.

Chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play