Exodus 22:21-23:9

English Standard Version

²¹^(A)“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. ²²^(B)You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. ²³If you do mistreat them, and they ^(C)cry out to me, I will surely ^(D)hear their cry, ²⁴and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and ^(E)your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

²⁵^(F)“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. ²⁶^(G)If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, ²⁷for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he ^(H)cries to me, I will hear, for I am ^(I)compassionate.

²⁸^(J)“You shall not revile God, nor ^(K)curse a ruler of your people.

²⁹“You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. ^(L)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. ³⁰^(M)You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: ^(N)seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

³¹^(O)“You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore ^(P)you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; ^(Q)you shall throw it to the dogs.

23 ^(R)“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a ^(S)malicious witness. ²You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, ³^(T)nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.

⁴^(U)“If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. ⁵If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

⁶^(V)“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. ⁷^(W)Keep far from a false charge, and ^(X)do not kill the innocent and righteous, for ^(Y)I will not acquit the wicked. ⁸^(Z)And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.