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Exodus 22:21-23:17
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Exodus 22:21-23:17
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
21 You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 22 You shall not abuse any widow or orphan. 23 If you do abuse them, when they cry out to me, I will surely heed their cry; 24 my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children orphans.
25 If you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you shall not deal with them as a creditor; you shall not exact interest from them. 26 If you take your neighbour’s cloak in pawn, you shall restore it before the sun goes down; 27 for it may be your neighbour’s only clothing to use as cover; in what else shall that person sleep? And if your neighbour cries out to me, I will listen, for I am compassionate.
28 You shall not revile God, or curse a leader of your people.
29 You shall not delay to make offerings from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses.[a]
The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 30 You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: for seven days it shall remain with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.
31 You shall be people consecrated to me; therefore you shall not eat any meat that is mangled by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.
Justice for All
23 You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness. 2 You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice; 3 nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.
4 When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.
5 When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.[b]
6 You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits. 7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty. 8 You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
9 You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Sabbatical Year and Sabbath
10 For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild animals may eat. You shall do the same with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
12 For six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey may have relief, and your home-born slave and the resident alien may be refreshed. 13 Be attentive to all that I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.
The Annual Festivals
14 Three times in the year you shall hold a festival for me. 15 You shall observe the festival of unleavened bread; as I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt.
No one shall appear before me empty-handed.
16 You shall observe the festival of harvest, of the first fruits of your labour, of what you sow in the field. You shall observe the festival of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labour. 17 Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.
Footnotes
- Exodus 22:29 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- Exodus 23:5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Exodus 22:21-23:17
New International Version
Exodus 22:21-23:17
New International Version
21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner,(A) for you were foreigners(B) in Egypt.
22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.(C) 23 If you do and they cry out(D) to me, I will certainly hear their cry.(E) 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.(F)
25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.(G) 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge,(H) return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in?(I) When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.(J)
28 “Do not blaspheme God[a](K) or curse(L) the ruler of your people.(M)
29 “Do not hold back offerings(N) from your granaries or your vats.[b]
“You must give me the firstborn of your sons.(O) 30 Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.(P) Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.(Q)
31 “You are to be my holy people.(R) So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts;(S) throw it to the dogs.
Laws of Justice and Mercy
23 “Do not spread false reports.(T) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.(U)
2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice(V) by siding with the crowd,(W) 3 and do not show favoritism(X) to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s(Y) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.(Z) 5 If you see the donkey(AA) of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
6 “Do not deny justice(AB) to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge(AC) and do not put an innocent(AD) or honest person to death,(AE) for I will not acquit the guilty.(AF)
8 “Do not accept a bribe,(AG) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9 “Do not oppress a foreigner;(AH) 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.(AI) 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,(AJ) 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.(AK)
13 “Be careful(AL) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;(AM) do not let them be heard on your lips.(AN)
The Three Annual Festivals
14 “Three times(AO) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;(AP) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(AQ) for in that month you came out of Egypt.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(AR)
16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest(AS) with the firstfruits(AT) of the crops you sow in your field.
“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering(AU) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.(AV)
17 “Three times(AW) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.
Footnotes
- Exodus 22:28 Or Do not revile the judges
- Exodus 22:29 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.