Exodus 22:20-23:13

New International Version

²⁰ “Whoever sacrifices to any god^(A) other than the Lord must be destroyed.^[a](B)

²¹ “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner,^(C) for you were foreigners^(D) in Egypt.

²² “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.^{(E) 23} If you do and they cry out^(F) to me, I will certainly hear their cry.^{(G) 24} My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.^(H)

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.^{(I) 26} If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge,^(J) return it by sunset, ²⁷ because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in?^(K) When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.^(L)

²⁸ “Do not blaspheme God^[b](M) or curse^(N) the ruler of your people.^(O)

²⁹ “Do not hold back offerings^(P) from your granaries or your vats.^[c]

“You must give me the firstborn of your sons.^{(Q) 30} Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.^(R) Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.^(S)

³¹ “You are to be my holy people.^(T) So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts;^(U) throw it to the dogs.

Laws of Justice and Mercy

23 “Do not spread false reports.^(V) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.^(W)

² “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice^(X) by siding with the crowd,^{(Y) 3} and do not show favoritism^(Z) to a poor person in a lawsuit.

⁴ “If you come across your enemy’s^(AA) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.^{(AB) 5} If you see the donkey^(AC) 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^(AD) to your poor people in their lawsuits. ⁷ Have nothing to do with a false charge^(AE) and do not put an innocent^(AF) or honest person to death,^(AG) for I will not acquit the guilty.^(AH)

⁸ “Do not accept a bribe,^(AI) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

⁹ “Do not oppress a foreigner;^(AJ) 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.^(AK) 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,^(AL) 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.^(AM)

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