Exodus 23
New King James Version
Justice for All
23 “You (A)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an (B)unrighteous witness. 2 (C)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; (D)nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. 3 You shall not show partiality to a (E)poor man in his dispute.
4 (F)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 (G)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
6 (H)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 (I)Keep yourself far from a false matter; (J)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For (K)I will not justify the wicked. 8 And (L)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.
9 “Also (M)you shall not oppress a [a]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The Law of Sabbaths
10 (N)“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your [b]olive grove. 12 (O)Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.
13 “And in all that I have said to you, (P)be circumspect and (Q)make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.
Three Annual Feasts(R)
14 (S)“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: 15 (T)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; (U)none shall appear before Me empty); 16 (V)and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and (W)the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17 (X)“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord [c]God.
18 (Y)“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened (Z)bread; nor shall the fat of My [d]sacrifice remain until morning. 19 (AA)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. (AB)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
The Angel and the Promises
20 (AC)“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; (AD)do not provoke Him, for He will (AE)not pardon your transgressions; for (AF)My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then (AG)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 (AH)For My Angel will go before you and (AI)bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will [e]cut them off. 24 You shall not (AJ)bow down to their gods, nor serve them, (AK)nor do according to their works; (AL)but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.
25 “So you shall (AM)serve the Lord your God, and (AN)He will bless your bread and your water. And (AO)I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 (AP)No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will (AQ)fulfill the number of your days.
27 “I will send (AR)My fear before you, I will (AS)cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And (AT)I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. 29 (AU)I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. 31 And (AV)I will set your [f]bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the [g]River. For I will (AW)deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 (AX)You shall make no [h]covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, (AY)it will surely be a snare to you.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 23:9 sojourner
- Exodus 23:11 olive yards
- Exodus 23:17 Heb. YHWH, usually translated Lord
- Exodus 23:18 feast
- Exodus 23:23 annihilate them
- Exodus 23:31 boundaries
- Exodus 23:31 Heb. Nahar, the Euphrates
- Exodus 23:32 treaty
Exodus 23
Common English Bible
23 Don’t spread false rumors. Don’t plot with evil people to act as a lying witness. 2 Don’t take sides with important people to do wrong. When you act as a witness, don’t stretch the truth to favor important people. 3 But don’t privilege unimportant people in their lawsuits either.
4 When you happen to come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has wandered off, you should bring it back to them.
5 When you see a donkey that belongs to someone who hates you and it’s lying down under its load and you are inclined not to help set it free, you must help set it free.
6 Don’t undermine the justice that your poor deserve in their lawsuits. 7 Stay away from making a false charge. Don’t put an innocent person who is in the right to death, because I will not consider innocent those who do such evil. 8 Don’t take a bribe, because a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
9 Don’t oppress an immigrant. You know what it’s like to be an immigrant, because you were immigrants in the land of Egypt.
Sabbaths and festivals
10 For six years you should plant crops on your land and gather in its produce. 11 But in the seventh year you should leave it alone and undisturbed so that the poor among your people may eat. What they leave behind, the wild animals may eat. You should do the same with your vineyard and your olive trees.
12 Do your work in six days. But on the seventh day you should rest so that your ox and donkey may rest, and even the child of your female slave and the immigrant may be refreshed.
13 Be careful to obey everything that I have said to you. Don’t call on the names of other gods. Don’t even mention them.
14 You should observe a festival for me three times a year. 15 Observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread, as I commanded you. Eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib,[a] because it was in that month that you came out of Egypt.
No one should appear before me empty-handed. 16 Observe the Harvest Festival for the early produce of your crops that you planted in the field, and the Gathering Festival at the end of the year, when you gather your crop of fruit from the field. 17 All your males should appear three times a year before the Lord God.
18 Don’t offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened. Don’t let the fat of my festival offering be left over until the morning.
19 Bring the best of your land’s early produce to the Lord your God’s temple.
Don’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
God’s promise: messenger and land
20 I’m about to send a messenger in front of you to guard you on your way and to bring you to the place that I’ve made ready. 21 Pay attention to him and do as he says. Don’t rebel against him. He won’t forgive the things you do wrong because I[b] am with him. 22 But if you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, then I’ll be an enemy to your enemies and fight those fighting you.
23 When my messenger goes in front of you and brings you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I wipe them out, 24 don’t bow down to their gods, worship them, or do what they do. Instead, you should completely destroy them and smash their sacred stone pillars to bits. 25 If you worship the Lord your God, the Lord will bless your bread and your water. I’ll take sickness away from you, 26 and no woman will miscarry or be infertile in your land. I’ll let you live a full, long life. 27 My terrifying reputation will precede you, and I’ll throw all the people that you meet into a panic. I’ll make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 I’ll send insect swarms in front of you and drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. 29 I won’t drive them out before you in a single year so the land won’t be abandoned and the wild animals won’t multiply around you. 30 I’ll drive them out before you little by little, until your numbers grow and you eventually possess the land. 31 I’ll set your borders from the Reed Sea[c] to the Philistine Sea and from the desert to the River. I’ll hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out before you. 32 Don’t make any covenants with them or their gods. 33 Don’t allow them to live in your land, or else they will lead you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, it will become a dangerous trap for you.
Footnotes
- Exodus 23:15 March–April, named Nisan after the exile
- Exodus 23:21 Or my name
- Exodus 23:31 Or Red Sea
Éxodo 23
Nueva Biblia Viva
Leyes de justicia y de misericordia
23 »No acepten falsos rumores.
»No cooperen con el malvado apoyando su testimonio, cuando sepan que es falso.
2-3 »No sigan a las mayorías que intenten hacer mal. Cuando estén en el estrado de los testigos, no inclinen sus testimonios a favor de la mayoría presente ni hacia el pobre, por el simple hecho de ser pobre.
4 »Si encuentran el buey o el burro extraviado de su enemigo, llévenselo a su dueño. 5 Si ven que su enemigo trata de levantar su burro que ha caído bajo una pesada carga, deberán detenerse a ayudarle.
6 »La pobreza del hombre no es razón para torcer la justicia en su contra.
7 »Aléjense de todo intento de acusar a alguien falsamente. No permitan que un inocente sea condenado a muerte. Esto yo no lo toleraré.
8 »No acepten soborno, porque los inclina hacia la parcialidad y daña la causa del inocente.
9 »No oprimirán al extranjero, porque ustedes saben lo que es ser extranjero. Recuerden su experiencia en Egipto.
Leyes sabáticas
10 »Sembrarán y cosecharán durante seis años, 11 pero la tierra descansará durante el séptimo año, y los pobres del pueblo podrán espigar lo que salga espontáneamente; el resto lo dejarán para que coman los animales. Esta misma regla se aplica a sus viñedos y olivares.
12 »Trabajarán seis días solamente y descansarán el séptimo. Esto es para dar descanso a su buey y su asno, a sus esclavos y al extranjero que viva con ustedes.
13 »Obedezcan todas estas cosas, y recuerden que no deben ni siquiera mencionar el nombre de otro dios.
Las tres fiestas anuales
14 »Deberán celebrar tres fiestas religiosas en el año. 15 La primera es la de los Panes sin levadura. Durante siete días no comerán pan con levadura, conforme a lo que les he ordenado. Esta celebración será anual. La celebrarán en el mes de aviv, que fue el mes en que salieron de Egipto. Cada uno deberá ofrecerme algún sacrificio en esa fecha.
16 »También celebrarán la fiesta de las Primicias, en la que me ofrecerán las primicias de la cosecha. Y finalmente, la fiesta de la Cosecha, cuando termine el trabajo de recolección de la cosecha.
17 »Cada año, en estas tres fiestas, todo varón de Israel se presentará delante del Señor.
18 »Ningún sacrificio de sangre será ofrecido con panes con levadura; no se dejará la grasa del animal sacrificado para ofrecerla al día siguiente.
19 »Llevarán a la casa del Señor los primeros y mejores frutos de sus campos.
»No cocerán el cabrito en la leche de su madre.
El ángel del Señor
20 »Miren, estoy enviando un ángel delante de ustedes, para que lleguen con seguridad a la tierra que les he preparado. 21 Muéstrenle reverencia y obedezcan todas sus órdenes. No se rebelen contra él, porque él actúa en mi nombre, y no les perdonará sus faltas. 22 Si le obedecen cuidadosamente y siguen todas sus instrucciones, yo seré enemigo de sus enemigos. 23 Y mi ángel irá delante de ustedes y los conducirá a la tierra de los amorreos, de los ferezeos, de los hititas, de los cananeos, de los heveos y de los jebuseos, para que vivan en ella. Yo destruiré estos pueblos delante de ustedes.
24 »No adorarán dioses de otras naciones ni les ofrecerán sacrificios; no deben imitar el ejemplo de esos pueblos paganos. Deben vencerlos completamente y destrozar todos sus ídolos vergonzosos.
25 »Servirán al Señor su Dios solamente, y yo los bendeciré con alimentos y agua, y apartaré toda enfermedad de entre ustedes. 26 No habrá abortos ni esterilidad en su tierra, y vivirán a plenitud todos los días de su vida.
27 »El pánico del Señor caerá sobre las naciones que ustedes invadan, de modo que sus habitantes huirán delante de ustedes.
28 »Enviaré delante de ustedes avispas que expulsen a los heveos, cananeos e hititas. 29 No lo haré todo en un solo año, porque la tierra se convertiría en un desierto y los animales salvajes se multiplicarían, de manera que no se podrían dominar. 30 Los expulsaré poco a poco, hasta que la población de ustedes haya crecido lo suficiente como para llenar la tierra. 31 Los límites que les pondré serán desde el Mar Rojo hasta la costa de los filisteos, y desde el desierto hasta el río Éufrates. Haré que ustedes venzan a los pueblos que hoy viven en esa tierra, y los expulsen de la región.
32 »No deberán hacer pacto con ellos, ni tendrán parte alguna con sus dioses. 33 No dejen que vivan entre ustedes, porque yo sé que ellos los contaminarán con su pecado de adorar a dioses falsos, y eso sería la ruina de ustedes».
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
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