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Contemporary English Version

Deuteronomy 23:2

No one born outside of a legal marriage, or any of their descendants for ten generations, can fully belong to the Lord 's people.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Bastard;   Children;   Congregation;   Thompson Chain Reference - Bastards;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Children;   Church of Israel;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Marriage;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Bastard;   Citizenship;   Congregation;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ammon;   Bastards;   Harlot;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bastard;   Covenant;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Clean and Unclean;   Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   Harlot;   Leviticus;   Marriage;   Nature;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Congregation;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Bastard;   Generation;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bastard;   Congregation;   Deuteronomy;   Harlot;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Bastard;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Eunuch;   Illegitimacy;   Medicine;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
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.
Hebrew Names Version
A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of the LORD.
King James Version
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 .
Lexham English Bible
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.
English Standard Version
"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 .
New Century Version
No one born to parents who were forbidden by law to marry may come into the meeting to worship the Lord . The descendants for ten generations may not come in either.
New English Translation
A person of illegitimate birth may not enter the assembly of the Lord ; to the tenth generation no one related to him may do so.
Amplified Bible
"A person of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation.
New American Standard Bible
"No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the LORD; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter the assembly of the LORD.
Geneva Bible (1587)
A bastard shall not enter into the Congregation of the Lorde: euen to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the Congregation of the Lord.
Legacy Standard Bible
No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation, none of his seed shall enter the assembly of Yahweh.
Complete Jewish Bible
"A man with crushed or damaged private parts may not enter the assembly of Adonai .
Darby Translation
A bastard shall not come into the congregation of Jehovah; even his tenth generation shall not come into the congregation of Jehovah.
Easy-to-Read Version
If a man's parents were not legally married, that man may not join with the men of Israel to worship the Lord . And none of his descendants to the tenth generation—may join in that group.
George Lamsa Translation
Neither shall a bastard enter into the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation, his descendants shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD.
Good News Translation
"No one born out of wedlock or any descendant of such a person, even in the tenth generation, may be included among the Lord 's people.
Literal Translation
An illegitimate child shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah, even to the tenth generation none of his shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
There shal no whores childe also come in to the cogregacion of ye LORDE, no not after ye tenth generacio, but shal neuer come in to ye cogregacio of ye LORDE.
American Standard Version
A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
Bible in Basic English
One whose father and mother are not married may not come into the meeting of the Lord's people, or any of his family to the tenth generation.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And a bastarde shall not come into the congregation of the Lorde: no not in the tenth generation he shall not enter into the congregation of the Lorde.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
He that is crushed or maimed in his privy parts shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD.
King James Version (1611)
A bastard shall not enter into the Congregation of the Lord: euen to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the Congregation of the Lord.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
One born of a harlot shall not enter into the assembly of the Lord.
English Revised Version
A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
No one of illegitimate birth may enter the assembly of the LORD, nor may any of his descendants, even to the tenth generation.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
A child borun of hordom schal not entre in to the chirche of the Lord, `til to the tenthe generacioun.
Young's Literal Translation
a bastard doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah; even a tenth generation of him doth not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
Update Bible Version
A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of Yahweh.
Webster's Bible Translation
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.
World English Bible
A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of Yahweh.
New King James Version
"One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD.
New Living Translation
"If a person is illegitimate by birth, neither he nor his descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord .
New Life Bible
No one who was born to parents who were not married will go into the meeting of the Lord. And none of his children will go into the meeting of the Lord, even to the children's children of ten families in the future.
New Revised Standard
Those born of an illicit union shall not be admitted to the assembly of the Lord . Even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord .
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
A bastard shall not enter into the convocation of Yahweh, - even to the tenth generation, shall none of his enter into the convocation of Yahweh.
Douay-Rheims Bible
A mamzer, that is to say, one born of a prostitute, shall not enter into the church of the Lord, until the tenth generation.
Revised Standard Version
"No bastard shall enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD.
THE MESSAGE
No bastard is to enter the congregation of God , even to the tenth generation, nor any of his children.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the LORD.

Contextual Overview

1 Moses said to Israel: If a man's private parts have been crushed or cut off, he cannot fully belong to the Lord 's people. 2 No one born outside of a legal marriage, or any of their descendants for ten generations, can fully belong to the Lord 's people. 3 No Ammonites or Moabites, or any of their descendants for ten generations, can become part of Israel, the Lord 's people. 4 This is because when you came out of Egypt, they refused to provide you with food and water. And besides, they hired Balaam to put a curse on you. 5 But the Lord your God loves you, so he refused to listen to Balaam and turned Balaam's curse into a blessing. 6 Don't even think of signing a peace treaty with Moab or Ammon. 7 But Edomites are your relatives, and you lived as foreigners in the country of Egypt. Now you must be kind to Edomites and Egyptians 8 and let their great-grandchildren become part of Israel, the Lord 's people.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Isaiah 57:3, Zechariah 9:6, John 8:41, Hebrews 12:8

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 23:1 - shall not enter Deuteronomy 23:8 - third generation Judges 11:2 - thrust out Micah 2:5 - the congregation

Cross-References

Genesis 13:18
Abram took down his tents and went to live near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar in honor of the Lord .
Genesis 23:14
"But sir," the man replied, "the property is worth only four hundred pieces of silver. Why should we haggle over such a small amount? Take the land. It's yours."
Genesis 23:16
Abraham accepted Ephron's offer and paid him the four hundred pieces of silver in front of everyone at the city gate. That's how Abraham got Ephron's property east of Hebron, which included the field with all of its trees, as well as Machpelah Cave at the end of the field.
Genesis 23:19
So Abraham buried his wife Sarah in Machpelah Cave that was in the field
Genesis 27:41
Esau hated his brother Jacob because he had stolen the blessing that was supposed to be his. So he said to himself, "Just as soon as my father dies, I'll kill Jacob."
Genesis 50:10
After crossing the Jordan River and reaching Atad's threshing place, Joseph had everyone mourn and weep seven days for his father.
Numbers 13:22
As they went through the Southern Desert, they came to the town of Hebron, which was seven years older than the Egyptian town of Zoan. In Hebron, they saw the three Anakim clans of Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai.
Numbers 20:29
the people knew that Aaron had died, and they mourned his death for thirty days.
Deuteronomy 34:8
The people of Israel stayed in the lowlands of Moab, where they mourned and grieved thirty days for Moses, as was their custom.
Joshua 10:39
They captured the town, and its nearby villages. Then they destroyed Debir and killed its king, together with everyone else, just as they had done with Hebron and Libnah.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord,.... That is born of whoredom, as the Targum of Jonathan; and for the sake of avoiding whoredom and deterring from it was this law made, according to Maimonides h, that adulterers might see, as he observes, that they affect their whole family with an irreparable stain, should they commit such an infamous action; though the Jews commonly interpret it of one that is born of any of those incestuous copulations forbidden in Leviticus 18:1 which they gather from this following upon, and being near unto one of those incests mentioned in the last verse of the preceding chapter i; and it is a rule with them k, that persons born of such copulations were reckoned bastards; now such an one, according to Jarchi, might not marry an Israelitish woman, or rather might not be admitted into the assembly of elders, or bear any public office. Jephthah may seem to be an objection to this, who was the son of an harlot, Judges 11:1 which might be owing to the badness of the times, the laws of God being neglected, or to the providence of God so ordering it, who is not bound by his own laws, though men are; nor was he the son of a common harlot, nor of an incestuous person, but of his father's concubine; besides some think such only are intended who were born of strangers and not Israelites:

even unto his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord; which seems as if he might at the eleventh; but it is generally interpreted never, as is gathered from the following verse, and from the tenth number being an absolute and perfect one; yet according to the Jewish writers there were ways and means by which their posterity became legitimate; so they say, bastards may be purified (or legitimated), how? if one marries a servant maid, the child is a servant, who if he becomes free, (his) son is a free man l.

h Targum Jon. in loc. Misn. Yebamot, c. 8. sect. 2, 4, 5, 6. Maimon. Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 49. i Bartenora in Misn. Kiddushin, c. 3. sect. 12. k Misn. Kiddushin, c. 3. sect. 12. & Misn. Yebamot, c. 4. sect. 13. Jarchi & Aben Ezra in loc. l Misn. Kiddushin, c. 3. sect. 13.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A bastard - Probably, a child born of incest or adultery.

Even to his tenth generation - i. e. (see the next verse and Nehemiah 13:1), forever. Ten is the number of perfection and completeness.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 23:2. A bastard shall not enter — ממזר mamzer, which is here rendered bastard, should be understood as implying the offspring of an illegitimate or incestuous mixture.


 
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