Deuteronomy 23:12
in Deuteronomy 23You must have a place outside the camp to go and relieve yourself.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
KJV
Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 23
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThou shalt have also a place without the camp,.... A place prepared, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, provided on purpose for the use hereafter suggested; so Ben Melech: whither thou shalt go forth abroad; to do the necessities of nature, which they were to do without the camp, not in any place they thought fit and most convenient, but what was appointed for that purpose.
This site's exposition
When the host goeth forth against thine enemies
on Deuteronomy 23:9-14
Verse 9 puts the army in the field under the law it lives under at home, keep thee from every wicked thing, and what follows is bodily rather than moral. A man unclean by night goes outside until he has washed and the sun is down, which Leviticus 15:16 had already required, and every man carries a paddle on his weapon to cover his own waste beyond the lines. Verse 14 gives the reason, that the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, which is the language of Leviticus 26:12 where God says he will walk among his people. Clarke observes that the same rules keep an army from disease, and he takes the health of the camp as a mercy carried inside the command rather than as the ground the text gives for it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
22 But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. 23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the L ORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v22-23
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
These directions may appear trifling to some, but they were essentially necessary to this people in their present circumstances. Decency and cleanliness promote health, and prevent many diseases.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
מקרה לילה [IF THERE BE AMONG YOU ANY MAN THAT IS NOT CLEAN BY REASON OF] UNCLEANNESS THAT CHANCETH HIM BY NIGHT — By night: Scripture speaks of what usually occurs (but the law applies also if the uncleanness happens at day time) (Sifrei Devarim:3).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָד֙ | veyad | and a hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| תִּהְיֶ֣ה | tihyeh | it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| מִח֖וּץ | michutz | from [the] outside | H2351 → | 164 times |
| לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑ה | lamachaneh | of the camp | H4264 → | 215 times |
| וְיָצָ֥אתָ | veyatzata | and you will go out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| שָׁ֖מָּה | shamah | there towards | H8033 → | 834 times |
| חֽוּץ׃ | chutz | outside | H2351 → | 164 times |
וְיָד֙and a hand
veyadH3027 →1618 times
תִּהְיֶ֣הit will belong
tihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְךָ֔to <the> you
lekha
מִח֖וּץfrom [the] outside
michutzH2351 →164 times
לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֑הof the camp
lamachanehH4264 →215 times
וְיָצָ֥אתָand you will go out
veyatzataH3318 →1067 times
שָׁ֖מָּהthere towards
shamahH8033 →834 times
חֽוּץ׃outside
chutzH2351 →164 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.