What Does Deuteronomy 23:13 Mean in the King James?

And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee:

Deuteronomy 23:13 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The Hebrew root behind “cover” links this literal act of containing bodily waste with the Psalm’s image of a covered transgression.

THE MEANING

Your body’s waste is treated as a physical reality with a clear boundary: you go outside, dig, return, and cover it. What leaves your body is neither denied nor left exposed in shared space.

THE ROOT

וְכִסִּיתָ

vekhissita

GROWS FROM

כסה

⁨כסה⁩ (kasah) means to cover, conceal, or enclose beneath a covering.

“cover” in this verse is vekhissita. Here the root describes covering bodily waste after digging, a concrete act of containment. Psalm 32:1 uses the same root for sin being “covered,” carrying the physical image into poetic speech.

ALSO GROWS

mikhseh: a covering; a cover

מִכְסֶה

This noun shares the root consonants ⁨כ־ס־ה⁩ and names a covering as a thing, while the verse uses the root as an action.

mekhasseh: one who covers; something covering

מְכַסֶּה

This form preserves the same root consonants and shows the covering action as a continuing or descriptive role.

וְחָפַרְתָּה

vechafarta

GROWS FROM

חפר

⁨חפר⁩ (ḥafar) means to dig or excavate.

“dig” in this verse is vechafarta. The verse pairs opening the earth with covering what the body releases: first a place is made, then the waste is contained. The sequence treats the body’s output as material that must be handled, not ignored.

ALSO GROWS

ḥafirah: digging; excavation

חֲפִירָה

This noun shares the root consonants ⁨ח־פ־ר⁩ and names the earth-opening action in the verse.

ḥofer: one who digs; a digger

חֹפֵר

This form keeps the same root consonants and makes the verse’s digging action a recognizable human activity.

THE PATTERN

The body’s outputs are treated as physical matter with a defined route, boundary, or covering.

Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad:

Deuteronomy 23:12 · KJVThis verse places the bodily need beyond the camp, and the next verse describes how what is left behind is covered.

And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.

Leviticus 17:13 · KJVThe blood of a hunted animal is given a concrete treatment: it is poured out and covered with earth.

Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

Mark 7:19 · KJVThe verse names what passes through the body and leaves it as material carried out through a physical route.

THE THREAD

A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Psalm 32:1 · KJV

The Hebrew word translated “covered” comes from the same ⁨כ־ס־ה⁩ root as the covering action in Deuteronomy. Here the root describes literal containment; in the psalm, the same image is used for sin.

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