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23 (A)You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a (B)malicious witness. You shall not follow [a]the masses in doing evil, nor shall you [b]testify in a case so as to turn aside after [c]the masses in order to [d](C)cause justice to be turned aside; (D)nor shall you [e]be partial to a poor man in his case.

(E)If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. (F)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

(G)You shall not cause the justice due to your needy brother to be turned aside in his case. (H)Keep far from a [f]false charge, and (I)do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for (J)I will not justify the guilty.

(K)And you shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and [g]subverts the cause of the [h]just.

(L)And you shall not oppress a sojourner, since you yourselves know the soul of a sojourner, for you also were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 23:2 Lit many men
  2. Exodus 23:2 Or answer
  3. Exodus 23:2 Lit many men
  4. Exodus 23:2 Or pervert justice, cf. 23:6
  5. Exodus 23:3 Lit honor
  6. Exodus 23:7 Lit lying word
  7. Exodus 23:8 Or distorts the words
  8. Exodus 23:8 Or righteous

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.

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