Deuteronomy 23:8
New International Version
The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

New Living Translation
The third generation of Edomites and Egyptians may enter the assembly of the LORD.

English Standard Version
Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the LORD.

Berean Standard Bible
The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

Berean Literal Bible
The sons who are begotten to them, the third generation, may enter into the assembly of YHWH.

King James Bible
The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.

New King James Version
The children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

New American Standard Bible
The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

NASB 1995
“The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

NASB 1977
“The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

Legacy Standard Bible
The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of Yahweh.

Amplified Bible
Their children of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

Berean Annotated Bible
The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD {YHWH}.

Christian Standard Bible
The children born to them in the third generation may enter the LORD’s assembly.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The children born to them in the third generation may enter the LORD’s assembly.”

American Standard Version
The children of the third generation that are born unto them shall enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

Contemporary English Version
and let their great-grandchildren become part of Israel, the LORD's people.

English Revised Version
The children of the third generation that are born unto them shall enter into the assembly of the LORD.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Their grandchildren may join the assembly of the LORD.

Good News Translation
From the third generation onward their descendants may be included among the LORD's people.

International Standard Version
Their grandchildren may participate in the assembly of the LORD."

NET Bible
Children of the third generation born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

New Heart English Bible
The children of the third generation who are born to them shall enter into the assembly of the LORD.

Webster's Bible Translation
The children that are begotten by them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.
Majority Text Translations
Majority Standard Bible
The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

World English Bible
The children of the third generation who are born to them may enter into Yahweh’s assembly.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
sons who are begotten of them, a third generation of them, enter into the assembly of YHWH.

Berean Literal Bible
The sons who are begotten to them, the third generation, may enter into the assembly of YHWH.

Young's Literal Translation
sons who are begotten of them, a third generation of them, doth enter into the assembly of Jehovah.

Smith's Literal Translation
The sons which shall be begotten to them, the third generation to them shall come in to the gathering of Jehovah.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
They that are born of them, in the third generation shall enter into the church of the Lord.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Those who have been born of them, in the third generation, shall enter into the church of the Lord.

New American Bible
Children born to them may come into the assembly of the LORD in the third generation.

New Revised Standard Version
The children of the third generation that are born to them may be admitted to the assembly of the LORD.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The children that are born to them shall enter into the assembly of the LORD in their third generation.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The children who are born to them in the third generation shall enter the assembly of LORD JEHOVAH.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
The children of the third generation that are born unto them may enter into the assembly of the LORD.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
If sons be born to them, in the third generation they shall enter into the assembly of the Lord.

Additional Translations ...



Context
Exclusion from the Congregation
7Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you lived as a foreigner in his land. 8The third generation of children born to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.

Cross References
The third generation of children born to them

Genesis 50:23
He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees.

Deuteronomy 5:9
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

Numbers 14:18
‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’
may enter the assembly of the LORD.

Nehemiah 13:1-3
At that time the Book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people, and in it they found the passage stating that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the assembly of God, / because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing). / As soon as the people heard this law, they excluded from Israel all of foreign descent.

Isaiah 56:3-7
Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.” And let the eunuch not say, “I am but a dry tree.” / For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, who choose what pleases Me and hold fast to My covenant— / I will give them, in My house and within My walls, a memorial and a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. …

Exodus 12:48-49
If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the LORD’s Passover, all the males in the household must be circumcised; then he may come near to celebrate it, and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised man may eat of it. / The same law shall apply to both the native and the foreigner who resides among you.”
Exodus 20:5-6
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, / but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Genesis 17:7-8
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. / And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”

Leviticus 19:34
You must treat the foreigner living among you as native-born and love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

Ruth 4:10
Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”

1 Kings 11:1-2
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.

2 Chronicles 6:32-33
And as for the foreigner who is not of Your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of Your great name and Your mighty hand and outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, / then may You hear from heaven, Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You. Then all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and fear You, as do Your people Israel, and they will know that this house I have built is called by Your Name.

Jeremiah 12:16
And if they will diligently learn the ways of My people and swear by My name, saying, ‘As surely as the LORD lives’—just as they once taught My people to swear by Baal—then they will be established among My people.

Ezekiel 47:22-23
You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who dwell among you and who have children. You are to treat them as native-born Israelites; along with you, they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. / In whatever tribe a foreigner dwells, you are to assign his inheritance there,” declares the Lord GOD.

Matthew 1:5
Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,

Matthew 5:17
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.


Treasury of Scripture

The children that are begotten of them shall enter into the congregation of the LORD in their third generation.

enter into

Deuteronomy 23:1
He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

Romans 3:29,30
Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: …

Ephesians 2:12,13
That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: …

third generation

Deuteronomy 23:2,3
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…

Exodus 20:5,6
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; …

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Assembly Begotten Born Children Congregation Enter Lord's Meeting Third
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Deuteronomy 23
1. Who may or may not enter into the congregation
9. Uncleanness is to be avoided in the host
15. Of the fugitive servant
17. Of filthiness
18. Of abominable sacrifices
19. Of usury
20. Of vows
24. Of trespass












The third generation of children born to them

“The third generation of children born to them” refers to the descendants of Edomites and Egyptians living among Israel. Although both nations had troubled relations with Israel, they were not permanently excluded as Ammon and Moab were. Their descendants could be admitted to the assembly of the Lord in the third generation.

Gen 50:23 He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation,…
Deu 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them;…
Num 14:18 The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion…

may enter the assembly of the LORD.

“May enter the assembly of the LORD” refers to full acceptance within Israel’s covenant community and participation in its public worship. The command preserved Israel’s holiness while providing a path of inclusion for those from these nations who joined themselves to the God and people of Israel.

Neh 13:1-3 At that time the Book of Moses was read aloud…
Isa 56:3-7 Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,…
Exo 12:48-49 If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate…

Persons / Places / Events
1. Israelites
The chosen people of God, to whom the laws and commandments were given, including those concerning who may enter the assembly of the LORD.

2. Edomites
Descendants of Esau, Jacob's brother. Historically, there was tension between the Israelites and Edomites, yet they are given a path to inclusion in the assembly.

3. Egyptians
A people among whom the Israelites lived for centuries. Despite past oppression, Egyptians are also given a path to inclusion in the assembly.

4. Assembly of the LORD
Refers to the congregation or community of Israel, particularly in a religious or worship context.

5. Third Generation
Indicates a specific time frame for when descendants of certain foreign nations could be fully integrated into the Israelite community.
Teaching Points
God's Grace and Inclusion
God's laws provided a way for outsiders to become part of His people, demonstrating His grace and desire for inclusion.

Historical Context and Reconciliation
Understanding the historical tensions between Israel and neighboring nations helps us appreciate the significance of these laws in promoting reconciliation.

Generational Impact
The mention of the "third generation" highlights the importance of time and transformation in the process of integration and acceptance.

Compassion for the Foreigner
As believers, we are called to show compassion and hospitality to those who are different from us, reflecting God's love and acceptance.

Unity in Christ
In the New Testament, the barriers between Jew and Gentile are broken down in Christ, calling us to live in unity and love with all believers.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1. What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 23:8?

2. How does Deuteronomy 23:8 demonstrate God's inclusivity towards certain foreign nations?

3. What historical context helps us understand Deuteronomy 23:8's message of acceptance?

4. How does Deuteronomy 23:8 connect with Galatians 3:28 on unity in Christ?

5. In what ways can we apply Deuteronomy 23:8 to modern church inclusivity?

6. How does Deuteronomy 23:8 challenge us to reconsider our attitudes towards outsiders?

7. What does Deuteronomy 23:8 reveal about God's view on inclusion and exclusion?

8. How does Deuteronomy 23:8 align with the overall message of the Old Testament?

9. Why were Edomites and Egyptians treated differently in Deuteronomy 23:8?

10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Deuteronomy 23?


(8) The children that are begotten of them From this passage it is clear that it was not only from Egypt that a "mixed multitude" came up with Israel. It seems to have been impossible to prevent some inter-marriages between Edom, Moab, and Israel when the Israelites passed through their land. Such a precept is suitable to the circumstances of Moses' time. It would be less necessary when the bulk of the people had gone over the Jordan and left Moab and Edom far behind.

Deuteronomy 23:8 shows that God upholds holiness while extending mercy. Foreigners who reject idolatry and embrace Israel’s God are not left on the margins forever; by the third generation their families may fully participate in worship. The verse anticipates the gospel’s wide embrace—first guarding the purity of God’s people, then welcoming any who, through faith and obedience, would join the covenant community.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The third
שְׁלִישִׁ֑י (šə·lî·šî)
Number - ordinal masculine singular
Strong's 7992: Third, feminine a, third, a third, a third-story cell)

generation
דּ֣וֹר (dō·wr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1755: A revolution of time, an age, generation, a dwelling

of children
בָּנִ֛ים (bā·nîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 1121: A son

born
יִוָּלְד֥וּ (yiw·wā·lə·ḏū)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3205: To bear young, to beget, medically, to act as midwife, to show lineage

to them
לָהֶ֖ם (lā·hem)
Preposition | third person masculine plural
Strong's Hebrew

may enter
יָבֹ֥א (yā·ḇō)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

the assembly
בִּקְהַ֥ל (biq·hal)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6951: Assembly, convocation, congregation

of the LORD.
יְהוָֽה׃ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel


Additonal Resources
Deuteronomy 23:8 Blue Letter Bible
Deuteronomy 23:8 Bible Gateway
Deuteronomy 23:8 Bible.com

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Deuteronomy 23:8 Study Bible
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Deuteronomy 23:8 Catholic Bible

OT Law: Deuteronomy 23:8 The children of the third generation who (Deut. De Du)

Deuteronomy 23:7
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