Various Laws

23 (A)You shall not give a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked person to be a (B)malicious witness. You shall not follow [a]the crowd in doing evil, nor shall you [b]testify in a dispute so as to join together with [c]a crowd in order to (C)pervert justice; (D)nor shall you [d]show favor to a poor person in his dispute.

(E)If you encounter your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you must return it to him. (F)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall not leave it helpless for [e]its owner; you must arrange the load with him.

(G)You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute. (H)Keep far from a false charge, and (I)do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for (J)I will not acquit the guilty.

(K)You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and [f]subverts the cause of the just.

(L)You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the [g]feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Sabbath and the Land

10 “Now (M)you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, 11 but in the seventh year you shall let it [h]rest and lie uncultivated, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the animal of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

12 (N)For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as the stranger residing with you, may refresh themselves. 13 Now (O)concerning everything which I have said to you, be careful; and (P)do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard [i]from your mouth.

Three National Feasts

14 (Q)Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. 15 You shall keep (R)the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the (S)month of Abib, for in [j]that month you came out of Egypt. And [k](T)no one is to appear before Me empty-handed. 16 Also you shall keep (U)the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year (V)when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 (W)Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord [l]God.

18 (X)You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; (Y)nor is the fat of My [m]feast to remain overnight until morning.

19 “You shall bring (Z)the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.

(AA)You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Conquest of the Land

20 “Behold, I am going to send (AB)an angel before you to guard you along the way and (AC)to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and obey his voice; (AD)do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your rebellion, since (AE)My name is in him. 22 But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then (AF)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 (AG)For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them. 24 (AH)You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; (AI)but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their (AJ)memorial stones in pieces. 25 (AK)And you shall serve the Lord your God, [n]and He will bless your bread and your water; and (AL)I will remove sickness from your midst. 26 There will be no one miscarrying or (AM)unable to have children in your land; (AN)I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will (AO)send My terror ahead of you, and (AP)throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will (AQ)make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send (AR)hornets ahead of you so that they will (AS)drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from you. 29 (AT)I will not drive them out from you in a single year, so that the land will not become desolate and the animals of the field become too numerous for you. 30 I will drive them out from you (AU)little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land. 31 (AV)I will set your boundary from the [o]Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River; (AW)for I will hand over the inhabitants of the land to you, and you will (AX)drive them out from you. 32 (AY)You shall [p]make no covenant with them (AZ)or with their gods. 33 (BA)They shall not live in your land, otherwise they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, (BB)it is certain to be a snare to you.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 23:2 Lit many
  2. Exodus 23:2 Or answer
  3. Exodus 23:2 Lit many
  4. Exodus 23:3 Lit honor
  5. Exodus 23:5 Lit him
  6. Exodus 23:8 Or distorts the words
  7. Exodus 23:9 Lit soul
  8. Exodus 23:11 Lit drop
  9. Exodus 23:13 Lit on
  10. Exodus 23:15 Lit it
  11. Exodus 23:15 Lit they shall not
  12. Exodus 23:17 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  13. Exodus 23:18 Or festival
  14. Exodus 23:25 Or that He may bless
  15. Exodus 23:31 Lit Sea of Reeds
  16. Exodus 23:32 Lit cut

Laws of Justice and Mercy

23 “Do not spread false reports.(A) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.(B)

“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice(C) by siding with the crowd,(D) and do not show favoritism(E) to a poor person in a lawsuit.

“If you come across your enemy’s(F) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.(G) If you see the donkey(H) of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

“Do not deny justice(I) to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge(J) and do not put an innocent(K) or honest person to death,(L) for I will not acquit the guilty.(M)

“Do not accept a bribe,(N) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

“Do not oppress a foreigner;(O) you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Sabbath Laws

10 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.(P) Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

12 “Six days do your work,(Q) but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.(R)

13 “Be careful(S) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;(T) do not let them be heard on your lips.(U)

The Three Annual Festivals

14 “Three times(V) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;(W) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(X) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(Y)

16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest(Z) with the firstfruits(AA) of the crops you sow in your field.

“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering(AB) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.(AC)

17 “Three times(AD) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.

18 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.(AE)

“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.(AF)

19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(AG) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(AH)

God’s Angel to Prepare the Way

20 “See, I am sending an angel(AI) ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.(AJ) 21 Pay attention to him and listen(AK) to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive(AL) your rebellion,(AM) since my Name(AN) is in him. 22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do(AO) all that I say, I will be an enemy(AP) to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,(AQ) and I will wipe them out. 24 Do not bow down before their gods or worship(AR) them or follow their practices.(AS) You must demolish(AT) them and break their sacred stones(AU) to pieces. 25 Worship the Lord your God,(AV) and his blessing(AW) will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness(AX) from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be barren(AY) in your land. I will give you a full life span.(AZ)

27 “I will send my terror(BA) ahead of you and throw into confusion(BB) every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.(BC) 28 I will send the hornet(BD) ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites(BE) out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals(BF) too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession(BG) of the land.

31 “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea[a] to the Mediterranean Sea,[b] and from the desert to the Euphrates River.(BH) I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out(BI) before you. 32 Do not make a covenant(BJ) with them or with their gods. 33 Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare(BK) to you.”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 23:31 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Exodus 23:31 Hebrew to the Sea of the Philistines