Exodus 23
Lexham English Bible
Regulations Regarding Justice
23 “‘You will not spread[a] a false report. Do not lift your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness. 2 You will not follow[b] a majority[c] for evil, and you will not testify concerning a legal dispute to turn aside after a majority[d] to pervert justice. 3 You will not be partial to a powerless person[e] in his legal dispute.
4 “‘If you come upon the ox of your enemy or his donkey going astray, you will certainly bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of your enemy lying down under its burden, you will refrain from abandoning him. You will surely arrange[f] it with him.
6 “‘You will not pervert the justice of your poor in his legal dispute. 7 You will stay far from a false charge,[g] and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, because I will not declare the wicked righteous.[h] 8 And you will not take a bribe, because the bribe makes the sighted blind and ruins the words of the righteous. 9 And you will not oppress an alien; you yourselves know the feelings[i] of the alien, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Regulations Regarding Work and Festivals
10 “‘And six years you will sow your land and gather its yield. 11 But the seventh you will let it rest and leave it fallow, and the poor of your people will eat, and their remainder the animals[j] of the field will eat. You will do likewise for your vineyard and for your olive trees.
12 “‘Six days you will do your work, but on the seventh day you will stop so that your ox and your donkey will rest and the son of your slave woman and the alien will be refreshed.
13 “‘And you will be attentive to all that I have said to you, and you will not profess[k] the name of other gods; it will not be heard in your mouth.
14 “‘Three times in the year you will hold a festival for me. 15 You will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you will eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you at the appointed time, the month of Abib, because in it you came out from Egypt, and no one will[l] appear before me empty-handed. 16 And you will keep the Feast of Harvest, with the firstfruits of your work, what you sow in the field. And you will keep the Feast of Harvest Gathering when the year goes out, when you gather your work from the field. 17 Three times in the year all your men will appear before the Lord Yahweh.
18 “‘You will not sacrifice the blood of my sacrifice together with food with yeast, and you will not leave the fat of my feast overnight until morning.
19 “‘The best of the firstfruits of your land you will bring to the house of Yahweh your God.
“‘You will not boil a young goat[m] in its mother’s milk.
Reasons for Loyal Obedience
20 “‘Look, I am about to send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21 Be attentive to him and listen to his voice; do not rebel against him, because he will not forgive your transgression, for my name is in him. 22 But if you listen attentively to his voice and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. 23 When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites[n] and the Hittites[o] and the Perizzites[p] and the Canaanites[q] and the Hivites[r] and the Jebusites,[s] I will wipe them out.
24 “‘You will not bow to their gods, and you will not serve them, and you will not act according to their actions, because you will utterly demolish them, and you will utterly break their stone pillars. 25 And you will serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove sickness from among you. 26 There will be no one suffering miscarriage or infertile in your land. I will make full the number of your days.[t]
27 “‘I will release my terror before you, and I will throw into confusion all the people against whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their back to you.[u] 28 And I will send the hornet before you, and it will drive out the Hivites,[v] the Canaanites,[w] and the Hittites[x] from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become a desolation and the wild animals[y] multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you until you are fruitful and take possession of the land.
31 “‘And I will set your boundary from the Red Sea[z] and up to the sea of the Philistines and from the desert up to the river,[aa] because I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out from before you. 32 You will not make a covenant with them and with their gods. 33 They will not live in your land, lest they cause you to sin against me when you serve their gods, for it will be a snare to you.’”
Footnotes
- Exodus 23:1 Literally “lift”
- Exodus 23:2 Literally “be behind”
- Exodus 23:2 Or “many” or “the many”
- Exodus 23:2 Or “many” or “the many”
- Exodus 23:3 Or “a poor person”
- Exodus 23:5 Or “restore” or “put in order”
- Exodus 23:7 Literally “word of deception”
- Exodus 23:7 Or “treat as innocent” or “acquit”
- Exodus 23:9 Or “inner self” or “soul”
- Exodus 23:11 Hebrew “animal”
- Exodus 23:13 Literally “cause to remember,” “bring to remembrance,” or “mention” in prayer or praise
- Exodus 23:15 Literally “they will not”
- Exodus 23:19 Or “kid”
- Exodus 23:23 Hebrew “Amorite”
- Exodus 23:23 Hebrew “Hittite”
- Exodus 23:23 Hebrew “Perizzite”
- Exodus 23:23 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Exodus 23:23 Hebrew “Hivite”
- Exodus 23:23 Hebrew “Jebusite”
- Exodus 23:26 Or “give you a full life span”
- Exodus 23:27 Literally “give all your enemies to you back”
- Exodus 23:28 Hebrew “Hivite”
- Exodus 23:28 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Exodus 23:28 Hebrew “Hittite”
- Exodus 23:29 Literally “the animal of the field”
- Exodus 23:31 Literally “sea of reed”
- Exodus 23:31 Or “the Euphrates”
Exodus 23
New American Standard Bible
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. 2 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; 3 (D)nor shall you [d]show favor to a poor person in his dispute.
4 “(E)If you encounter your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you must return it to him. 5 (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.
6 “(G)You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute. 7 (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.
8 “(K)You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and [f]subverts the cause of the just.
9 “(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
- Exodus 23:2 Lit many
- Exodus 23:2 Or answer
- Exodus 23:2 Lit many
- Exodus 23:3 Lit honor
- Exodus 23:5 Lit him
- Exodus 23:8 Or distorts the words
- Exodus 23:9 Lit soul
- Exodus 23:11 Lit drop
- Exodus 23:13 Lit on
- Exodus 23:15 Lit it
- Exodus 23:15 Lit they shall not
- Exodus 23:17 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Exodus 23:18 Or festival
- Exodus 23:25 Or that He may bless
- Exodus 23:31 Lit Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 23:32 Lit cut
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