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Those Excluded from the Assembly23 No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the L ord. 2 Those born of an illicit union shall not be admitted to the assembly of the L ord. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the L ord. 3 No Ammonite or Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the L ord. Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the L ord, 4because they did not meet you with food and water on your journey out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam son of Beor, from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5(Yet the L ord your God refused to heed Balaam; the L ord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the L ord your God loved you.) 6You shall never promote their welfare or their prosperity as long as you live. 7 You shall not abhor any of the Edomites, for they are your kin. You shall not abhor any of the Egyptians, because you were an alien residing in their land. 8The children of the third generation that are born to them may be admitted to the assembly of the L ord. Sanitary, Ritual, and Humanitarian Precepts9 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. 11When 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. 13With 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. 14Because the L ord 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. 15 Slaves who have escaped to you from their owners shall not be given back to them. 16They shall reside with you, in your midst, in any place they choose in any one of your towns, wherever they please; you shall not oppress them. 17 None of the daughters of Israel shall be a temple prostitute; none of the sons of Israel shall be a temple prostitute. 18You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a male prostitute into the house of the L ord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the L ord your God. 19 You shall not charge interest on loans to another Israelite, interest on money, interest on provisions, interest on anything that is lent. 20On loans to a foreigner you may charge interest, but on loans to another Israelite you may not charge interest, so that the L ord your God may bless you in all your undertakings in the land that you are about to enter and possess. 21 If you make a vow to the L ord your God, do not postpone fulfilling it; for the L ord your God will surely require it of you, and you would incur guilt. 22But if you refrain from vowing, you will not incur guilt. 23Whatever your lips utter you must diligently perform, just as you have freely vowed to the L ord your God with your own mouth. 24 If you go into your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in a container. 25 If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by
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From these passages we learn that it is not enough to refrain from taking the goods of another, unless we also constantly exercise humanity and mercy in the relief of the poor. Heathen authors also saw this, although not with sufficient clearness, (when they declared 109109 Added from Fr. “Atque ita placet Stoicis, quae in terris gignuntur ad usum hominum omnia creari, homines autem hominum causa esse generatos, ut ipsi inter se aliis alii prodesse possent.” — Cic. de Off. 1:7. ) that, since all men are born for the sake of each other, human society is not properly maintained, except by an interchange of good offices. Wherefore, that we may not defraud our neighbors, and so be accounted thieves in God’s sight, let us learn, according to our several means, to be kind to those who need our help; for liberality is a part of righteousness, so that he must be deservedly held to be unrighteous who does not relieve the necessities of his brethren when he can. This is the tendency of Solomon’s exhortation, that “we should drink waters out of our own cistern, 110110 It will be seen that these verses are abbreviated, and slightly paraphrased by C. His exposition of them, which is not the ordinary one, agrees with that of Junins in Poole’s Syn. and that our fountains should be dispersed abroad amongst our neighbors,” (Proverbs 5:15, 16;) for, after he has enjoined us each to be contented with what is our own, without seeking to enrich ourselves by the loss of others, he adds that those who have abundance do not enjoy their possessions as they ought, unless they communicate them to the poor for the relief of their poverty. For this is the reason, as Solomon tells us elsewhere, why “the rich and the poor meet together; and the Lord is the maker of them all.” (Proverbs 22:2.) |