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Deuteronomy 23:9–14

Uncleanness in the Camp

“When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

10 “If any man among you becomes sunclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp. He shall not come inside the camp, 11 but when evening comes, he shall tbathe himself in water, and as the sun sets, he may come inside the camp.

12 “You shall have a place outside the camp, and you shall go out to it. 13 And you shall have a trowel with your tools, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig a hole with it and turn back and cover up your excrement. 14 Because uthe Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

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Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — The New International Version (NIV)

When you are encamped against your enemies, keep away from everything impure. 10 If one of your men is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, he is to go outside the camp and stay there. 11 But as evening approaches he is to wash himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.

12 Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing. 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: 11 But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again. 12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: 13 And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: 14 For the Lord thy God walketh 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 unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — New Living Translation (NLT)

“When you go to war against your enemies, be sure to stay away from anything that is impure.

10 “Any man who becomes ceremonially defiled because of a nocturnal emission must leave the camp and stay away all day. 11 Toward evening he must bathe himself, and at sunset he may return to the camp.

12 “You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement. 14 The camp must be holy, for the Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

“When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing. 10 If there is any man among you who becomes unclean by some occurrence in the night, then he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come inside the camp. 11 But it shall be, when evening comes, that he shall wash with water; and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp.

12 “Also you shall have a place outside the camp, where you may go out; 13 and you shall have an implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your refuse. 14 For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — New Century Version (NCV)

When you are camped in time of war, keep away from unclean things. 10 If a man becomes unclean during the night, he must go outside the camp and not come back. 11 But when evening comes, he must wash himself, and at sunset he may come back into the camp.

12 Choose a place outside the camp where people may go to relieve themselves. 13 Carry a tent peg with you, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your dung. 14 The Lord your God moves around through your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies for you, so the camp must be holy. He must not see anything unclean among you so that he will not leave you.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — American Standard Version (ASV)

When thou goest forth in camp against thine enemies, then thou shalt keep thee from every evil thing. 10 If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of that which chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp: 11 but it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall bathe himself in water; and when the sun is down, he shall come within the camp. 12 Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: 13 and thou shalt have a paddle among thy weapons; and it shall be, when thou sittest down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: 14 for Jehovah thy God walketh 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 may not see an unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

When thou goest forth into camp against thine enemies, then keep thee from every evil thing. 10 If there be with thee a man that is not clean from what hath happened in the night, then shall he go outside the camp; he shall not come inside the camp; 11 and it shall be, towards evening, he shall bathe in water: and at the going down of the sun he may come inside the camp. 12 Thou shalt have a place also outside the camp, and shalt go forth thither. 13 And thou shalt have a shovel amongst thy weapons, and it shall be, when thou sittest down abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which is come from thee. 14 For Jehovah thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; and thy camp shall be holy, that he see nothing unseemly with thee, and turn away from thee.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

When you’re at war and have set up camp to fight your enemies, stay away from anything that will make you unclean.10 If one of your men becomes unclean from a nocturnal emission, he must go outside the camp and stay there. 11 Toward evening he must wash, and at sunset he may come back to camp. 

12 Choose a place outside the camp where you can go ⸤to relieve yourself⸥. 13 You must carry a pointed stick as part of your equipment. When you go outside to squat, dig a hole with it. When you’re done, cover up your excrement. 14 The Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and hand your enemies over to you. So your camp must always be holy. This way, the Lord will never see anything offensive among you and turn away from you. 

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

“When you are encamped against your enemies, be careful to avoid anything offensive. 10 If there is a man among you who is unclean because of a bodily emission during the night, he must go outside the camp; he may not come anywhere inside the camp. 11 When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may come inside the camp. 12 You must have a place outside the camp and go there to relieve yourself. 13 You must have a digging tool in your equipment; when you relieve yourself, dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything improper among you or He will turn away from you.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

When you are encamped against your enemies you shall guard against any impropriety.

10 If one of you becomes unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he shall go outside the camp; he must not come within the camp. 11 When evening comes, he shall wash himself with water, and when the sun has set, he may come back into the camp.

12 You shall have a designated area outside the camp to which you shall go. 13 With your utensils you shall have a trowel; when you relieve yourself outside, you shall dig a hole with it and then cover up your excrement. 14 Because the Lord your God travels along with your camp, to save you and to hand over your enemies to you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

“If you go out to encamp against your enemies, then you shall guard against doing anything evil.

10 “If there is among you a man that is not clean because of a seminal emission during the night, he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come within the camp. 11 And then toward the coming of the evening, he shall bathe with water, and at the going down of the sun, he may come to the midst of the camp.

12 “And there shall be for you a designated place outside the camp; and you shall go there to relieve yourself, 13 and a digging tool shall be included in addition to your other utensils for yourself; and then when you relieve yourself outside the camp you shall dig with it, and then you shall turn, and you shall cover your excrement. 14 For Yahweh your God is walking about in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to hand your enemies over to you before you, and so let your camp be holy, so that he shall not see in it anything indecent, and he shall turn away from going with you.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

There will be times when you are at war with your enemies. And your soldiers will be in camp. Then keep away from anything that isn’t pure and clean.

10 Suppose semen flows from the body of one of your soldiers during the night. Then that will make him “unclean.” He must go outside the camp and stay there. 11 But as evening approaches, he must wash himself. When the sun goes down, he can return to the camp.

12 Choose a place outside the camp where you can go to the toilet. 13 Keep a shovel among your tools. When you go to the toilet, dig a hole. Then cover up your waste.

14 The Lord your God walks around in your camp. He’s there to keep you safe. He’s also there to hand your enemies over to you. So your camp must be holy. Then he won’t see anything among you that is shameful. He won’t turn away from you.

Deuteronomy 23:9–14 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

When you go out as an army against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.

10 If 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 the 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 holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you.


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