People who may not come into the congregation
1Moses said: ‘If a man is emasculated, he may not come into the congregation of the Lord.
2If a baby is born but his father and mother are not married to each other, then that child may not come into the congregation of the Lord. The descendants of that baby may also not come into the congregation of the Lord, even after 10 generations.
3An Ammonite and a Moabite may not come into the congregation of the Lord. Their descendants may also not come into the congregation of the Lord, even after 10 generations, 4because the Ammonites and Moabites did not give food and water to the Israelites when you came out of Egypt. Balak, the king of Moab, hired Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you. Balaam came from the town of Beor in Pethor in Aram-Naharaim, 5but the Lord your God did not want to do what Balak asked. The Lord your God told Balaam that he must not curse you, and Balaam had to bless you. The Lord your God did this because He loves you. 6You may never try to make peace with the Ammonites and Moabites or be friendly to them.
7But you may not hate the Edomites, because they are your family. You also may not hate the Egyptians, because you were strangers in their land. 8After 3 generations the children of the Arameans and Egyptians may come into the congregation of the Lord.’
Laws in the camps of the Israelites
9‘When you stay in a camp before you go to war_against enemies, you must be careful not to do anything wrong. 10If something happens to a man during the night that makes him impure, then he must go out of the camp. He may not stay in the camp. 11When evening comes, he must wash himself and when the sun goes down, he may go back into the camp.
12You must make a place outside the camp that you can use as a toilet. 13Everyone who goes there must take a stick and when he is finished, he must dig a hole and cover everything. 14The Lord your God goes with you in your camp to save you and help you defeat your enemies. That is why your camp must be holy, so that there is nothing that the Lord does not like, because if there is something bad, He will leave you.’
Slaves who fled from their owners
15‘If slaves flee from their owners and come to you, you may not give those slaves back to their owners. 16These slaves may live among you wherever they want. They may live in your towns, anywhere they choose, and you may not make them suffer.’
Temple-prostitutes
17‘An Israelite man or woman may not become a temple-prostitute. 18You may not use the money from a prostitute or a male prostitute in the temple to pay for a promise that you have made to God. God hates temple-prostitutes.’
Interest
19‘You may not tell an Israelite to pay interest when you lend him money or food or anything. 20You may ask people who are not Israelites to pay interest, but not an Israelite. If you listen to the Lord your God, He will bless you in the land where you are going, that will become your land.’
Vows
21‘When you make a promise to God, you must do what you have promised immediately. The Lord your God wants you to do it. If you don't do it, then you are sinning. 22If you never make a promise to God, you will not do anything wrong. 23You must be careful of what you say and you must do what you have said you will do. If you promised God you would do something, then you chose to make that promise. God did not say you must do it.’
Vineyards and wheat_fields
24‘When You come into someone's vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you want. You may eat until you have had enough, but you may not take grapes with you when you leave.
25If someone has not started cutting his wheat and you come into his wheat_field, you may pick wheat with your hand but you may not cut wheat with a sickle.’
