Those Excluded from the Assembly
1 “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.
2 j“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.
3 k“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, 4 lbecause they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they mhired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of nMesopotamia, to curse you. 5 But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned othe curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you. 6 You pshall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for qhe is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because ryou were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the Lord.
Uncleanness in the Camp
9 “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.
Miscellaneous Laws
15 v“You shall not give up to his master a slave1 who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.
17 “None of the wdaughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none xof the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the fee of a prostitute or the wages of a dog2 into the house of the Lord your God in payment for any vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.
19 y“You shall not charge interest on loans to your brother, zinterest on money, interest on food, interest on anything that is lent for interest. 20 aYou may charge a foreigner interest, but you may not charge your brother interest, bthat the Lord your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
21 c“If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your 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 your bag. 25 If you go into your neighbor’s standing grain, dyou may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbor’s standing grain.
Greeting
1 Paul, aa prisoner for Christ Jesus, and bTimothy our brother,
To Philemon our beloved fellow worker 2 and Apphia our sister and cArchippus our dfellow soldier, and ethe church in your house:
3 fGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philemon’s Love and Faith
4 gI thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hhear of your love and iof the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints, 6 and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full jknowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.1 7 For I have derived much joy and kcomfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints lhave been refreshed through you.
Paul’s Plea for Onesimus
8 Accordingly, mthough I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do nwhat is required, 9 yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now oa prisoner also for Christ Jesus— 10 I appeal to you for pmy child, qOnesimus,2 rwhose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me son your behalf tduring my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be uby compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why vhe was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, 16 wno longer as a bondservant3 but more than a bondservant, as xa beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, yboth in the flesh and in the Lord.
17 So if you consider me zyour partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 aI, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. bRefresh my heart in Christ.
21 cConfident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say. 22 At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for dI am hoping that ethrough your prayers fI will be graciously given to you.
Final Greetings
23 gEpaphras, my hfellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, 24 and so do iMark, iAristarchus, jDemas, and jLuke, my fellow workers.
25 kThe grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
The Proverbs of Solomon
1 cThe proverbs of Solomon.
dA wise son makes a glad father,
ebut a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
2 fTreasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
gbut righteousness delivers from death.
3 hThe Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
ibut he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
4 A slack hand jcauses poverty,
kbut the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who lgathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is ma son who brings shame.
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but nthe mouth of the wicked conceals violence.1
7 oThe memory of the righteous is a blessing,
but pthe name of the wicked will rot.
8 qThe wise of heart will receive commandments,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
9 rWhoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but he who makes his ways crooked swill be found out.
10 Whoever twinks the eye causes trouble,
and a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 uThe mouth of the righteous is va fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked nconceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
but wlove covers all offenses.
13 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,
but xa rod is for the back of him who ylacks sense.
14 The wise zlay up knowledge,
but athe mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
15 bA rich man’s wealth is his strong city;
the poverty of the poor is their ruin.
16 The wage of the righteous leads cto life,
the gain of the wicked to sin.
17 Whoever heeds instruction is on dthe path to life,
but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,
and whoever utters slander is a fool.
19 eWhen words are many, transgression is not lacking,
fbut whoever restrains his lips is prudent.
20 The tongue of the righteous is gchoice silver;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
21 The lips of the righteous feed many,
but fools die for hlack of sense.
22 iThe blessing of the Lord makes rich,
and he adds no sorrow with it.2
23 Doing wrong is jlike a joke to a fool,
but kwisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
24 lWhat the wicked dreads mwill come upon him,
but nthe desire of the righteous will be granted.
25 When othe tempest passes, the wicked is no more,
but pthe righteous is established forever.
26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so is the sluggard to those who send him.
27 qThe fear of the Lord prolongs life,
rbut the years of the wicked will be short.
28 sThe hope of the righteous brings joy,
tbut the expectation of the wicked will perish.
29 uThe way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless,
but destruction to evildoers.
30 vThe righteous will never be removed,
but wthe wicked will not dwell in the land.
31 xThe mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,
but the perverse tongue will be cut off.
32 The lips of the righteous yknow what is acceptable,
but the mouth of the wicked, zwhat is perverse.
