^23:1A man with crushed¹ or severed genitals² may not enter the assembly of the Lord.³^23:2A person of illegitimate birth⁴ may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so.⁵

^23:3An Ammonite or Moabite⁶ may not enter the assembly of the Lord; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever⁷ do so,⁸^23:4for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired⁹ Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you. ^23:5But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed¹⁰ the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God loves¹¹ you. ^23:6You must not seek peace and prosperity for them through all the ages to come.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1 Heb “bruised by crushing,” which many English versions take to refer to crushed testicles (, , ); “who has been castrated.”
2 Heb “cut off with respect to the penis”; , “hath his privy member cut off”; English versions vary in their degree of euphemism here; cf. , , , “penis”; “male organ”; “sex organ”; “private parts”; “emasculated by crushing or cutting.”
3 The Hebrew term translated “assembly” (קָהָל, qahal) does not refer here to the nation as such but to the formal services of the tabernacle or temple. Since emasculated or other sexually abnormal persons were commonly associated with pagan temple personnel, the thrust here may be primarily polemical in intent. One should not read into this anything having to do with the mentally and physically handicapped as fit to participate in the life and ministry of the church.
4 Or “a person born of an illegitimate marriage.”
5 Heb “enter the assembly of the Lord.” The phrase “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
6 An Ammonite or Moabite. These descendants of Lot by his two daughters (cf. Gen 19:30–38) were thereby the products of incest and therefore excluded from the worshiping community. However, these two nations also failed to show proper hospitality to Israel on their way to Canaan (v. 4).
7 The Hebrew term translated “ever” (עַד־עוֹלָם, ’ad-’olam) suggests that “tenth generation” (vv. 2, 3) also means “forever.” However, in the OT sense “forever” means not “for eternity” but for an indeterminate future time. See A. Tomasino, 3:.
8 Heb “enter the assembly of the Lord.” The phrase “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
9 Heb “hired against you.”
10 Heb “the Lord your God changed.” The phrase “the Lord your God” has not been included in the translation here for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy. Moreover, use of the pronoun “he” could create confusion regarding the referent (the Lord or Balaam).
11 The verb אָהַב (’ahav, “love”) here and commonly elsewhere in the Book of Deuteronomy speaks of God’s elective grace toward Israel. See note on the word “loved” in .

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.

“No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.

“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, because they did not 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. But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.

No one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation.

No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation. For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you. However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“No man whose testicles have been crushed or whose penis has been cut off may enter the Lord’s assembly. No one of illegitimate birth may enter the Lord’s assembly; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter the Lord’s assembly. No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the Lord’s assembly; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the Lord’s assembly. This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt, and because Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim was hired to curse you. Yet the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but he turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves you. Never pursue their welfare or prosperity as long as you live.

NLTNew Living Translation

“If a man’s testicles are crushed or his penis is cut off, he may not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.

“If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.

“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord. These nations did not welcome you with food and water when you came out of Egypt. Instead, they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in distant Aram-naharaim to curse you. But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam. He turned the intended curse into a blessing because the Lord your God loves you. As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“No man with crushed testicles or whose male organ is cut off may come into the assembly of Yahweh.

An illegitimate child may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants may come into the assembly of Yahweh.

An Ammonite or a Moabite may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants may come into the assembly of Yahweh forever, because they did not come to meet you with food and with water when you came out of Egypt, and also because they hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor, in Aram Naharaim to act against you to curse you. But Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved you. You shall not promote their welfare or their prosperity all your days forever.

KJV 1900King James Version

He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. 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. An Ammonite 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: Because 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. Nevertheless 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. Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.

Public Domain