Deuteronomy 23:10-13

23:10 If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission, ¹  he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately. 23:11 When evening arrives he must wash himself with water and then at sunset he may reenter the camp.

23:12 You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine. ²  23:13 You must have a spade among your other equipment and when you relieve yourself ³  outside you must dig a hole with the spade ⁴  and then turn and cover your excrement. ⁵ 

¹ tn Heb “nocturnal happening.” The Hebrew term קָרֶה (qareh) merely means “to happen” so the phrase here is euphemistic (a “night happening”) for some kind of bodily emission such as excrement or semen. Such otherwise normal physical functions rendered one ritually unclean whether accidental or not. See Lev 15:16-18; 22:4.

² tn Heb “so that one may go outside there.” This expression is euphemistic.

³ tn Heb “sit.” This expression is euphemistic.

⁴ tn Heb “with it”; the referent (the spade mentioned at the beginning of the verse) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “what comes from you,” a euphemism.