Exodus 23
New Living Translation
A Call for Justice
23 “You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.
2 “You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. 3 And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.
4 “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. 5 If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.
6 “In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.
7 “Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.
8 “Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.
9 “You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
10 “Plant and harvest your crops for six years, 11 but let the land be renewed and lie uncultivated during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its own. Leave the rest for wild animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.
12 “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed.
13 “Pay close attention to all my instructions. You must not call on the name of any other gods. Do not even speak their names.
Three Annual Festivals
14 “Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor. 15 First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib,[a] for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may appear before me without an offering.
16 “Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest,[b] when you bring me the first crops of your harvest.
“Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest[c] at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields. 17 At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord.
18 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrificial offerings together with any baked goods containing yeast. And do not leave the fat from the festival offerings until the next morning.
19 “As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
A Promise of the Lord’s Presence
20 “See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. 21 Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. 22 But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. 23 For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely. 24 You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars.
25 “You must serve only the Lord your God. If you do, I[d] will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. 26 There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives.
27 “I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run. 28 I will send terror[e] ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you. 30 I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land. 31 And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,[f] and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River.[g] I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.
32 “Make no treaties with them or their gods. 33 They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.”
Footnotes
- 23:15 Hebrew appointed time in the month of Abib. This first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of March and April.
- 23:16a Or Festival of Weeks. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).
- 23:16b Or Festival of Ingathering. This was later called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Tabernacles (see Lev 23:33-36). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth).
- 23:25 As in Greek and Latin versions; Hebrew reads he.
- 23:28 Often rendered the hornet. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
- 23:31a Hebrew from the sea of reeds to the sea of the Philistines.
- 23:31b Hebrew from the wilderness to the river.
Exodus 23
Living Bible
23 “Do not pass along untrue reports. Do not cooperate with an evil man by affirming on the witness stand something you know is false.
2-3 “Don’t join mobs intent on evil. When on the witness stand, don’t be swayed in your testimony by the mood of the majority present, and do not slant your testimony in favor of a man just because he is poor.
4 “If you come upon an enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, you must take it back to its owner. 5 If you see your enemy trying to get his donkey onto its feet beneath a heavy load, you must not go on by but must help him.
6 “A man’s poverty is no excuse for twisting justice against him.
7 “Keep far away from falsely charging anyone with evil; never let an innocent person be put to death. I will not stand for this.[a]
8 “Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you unaware of what you clearly see! A bribe hurts the cause of the person who is right.
9 “Do not oppress foreigners; you know what it’s like to be a foreigner; remember your own experience in the land of Egypt.
10 “Sow and reap your crops for six years, 11 but let the land rest and lie fallow during the seventh year, and let the poor among the people harvest any volunteer crop that may come up; leave the rest for the animals to enjoy. The same rule applies to your vineyards and your olive groves.
12 “Work six days only, and rest the seventh; this is to give your oxen and donkeys a rest, as well as the people of your household—your slaves and visitors.
13 “Be sure to obey all of these instructions; and remember—never mention the name of any other god.[b]
14 “There are three annual religious pilgrimages you must make.[c]
15 “The first is the Pilgrimage of Unleavened Bread, when for seven days you are not to eat bread with yeast, just as I commanded you before. This celebration is to be an annual event at the regular time in March, the month you left Egypt; everyone must bring me a sacrifice at that time. 16 Then there is the Harvest Pilgrimage, when you must bring to me the first of your crops. And, finally, the Pilgrimage of Ingathering at the end of the harvest season. 17 At these three times each year, every man in Israel shall appear before the Lord God.
18 “No sacrificial blood shall be offered with leavened bread; no sacrificial fat shall be left unoffered until the next morning.
19 “As you reap each of your crops, bring me the choicest sample of the first day’s harvest; it shall be offered to the Lord your God.[d]
“Do not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
20 “See, I am sending an Angel before you to lead you safely to the land I have prepared for you. 21 Reverence him and obey all of his instructions; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; he is my representative—he bears my name.[e] 22 But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies. 23 For my Angel shall go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, to live there. And I will destroy those people before you.
24 “You must not worship the gods of these other nations, nor sacrifice to them in any way, and you must not follow the evil example of these heathen people; you must utterly conquer them and break down their shameful idols.
25 “You shall serve the Lord your God only; then I will bless you with food and with water, and I will take away sickness from among you. 26 There will be no miscarriages nor barrenness throughout your land, and you will live out the full quota of the days of your life.
27 “The terror of the Lord shall fall upon all the people whose land you invade, and they will flee before you; 28 and I will send hornets to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites from before you. 29 I will not do it all in one year, for the land would become a wilderness, and the wild animals would become too many to control. 30 But I will drive them out a little at a time, until your population has increased enough to fill the land. 31 And I will set your enlarged boundaries from the Red Sea to the Philistine coast, and from the southern deserts as far as the Euphrates River; and I will cause you to defeat the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.
32 “You must make no covenant with them, nor have anything to do with their gods. 33 Don’t let them live among you! For I know that they will infect you with their sin of worshiping false gods, and that would be an utter disaster to you.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 23:7 I will not stand for this, literally, “I will not acquit the wicked.”
- Exodus 23:13 never mention the name of any other god, in prayer or in taking an oath.
- Exodus 23:14 pilgrimages you must make, or “feasts you must celebrate.”
- Exodus 23:19 it shall be offered to the Lord your God, literally, “you shall bring (it) into the house of Jehovah your God.”
- Exodus 23:21 he is my representative—he bears my name, literally, “my name is in him.”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.