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Exodus 23
Good News Translation
Exodus 23
Good News Translation
Justice and Fairness
23 (A)“Do not spread false rumors, and do not help a guilty person by giving false testimony. 2 Do not follow the majority when they do wrong or when they give testimony that perverts justice. 3 (B)Do not show partiality to a poor person at his trial.
4 (C)“If you happen to see your enemy's cow or donkey running loose, take it back to him. 5 If his donkey has fallen under its load, help him get the donkey to its feet again; don't just walk off.
6 (D)“Do not deny justice to a poor person when he appears in court. 7 Do not make false accusations, and do not put an innocent person to death, for I will condemn anyone who does such an evil thing. 8 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe makes people blind to what is right and ruins the cause of those who are innocent.
9 (E)“Do not mistreat a foreigner; you know how it feels to be a foreigner, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
The Seventh Year and the Seventh Day
10 (F)“For six years plant your land and gather in what it produces. 11 But in the seventh year let it rest, and do not harvest anything that grows on it. The poor may eat what grows there, and the wild animals can have what is left. Do the same with your vineyards and your olive trees.
12 (G)“Work six days a week, but do no work on the seventh day, so that your slaves and the foreigners who work for you and even your animals can rest.
13 “Listen to everything that I, the Lord, have said to you. Do not pray to other gods; do not even mention their names.
The Three Great Festivals(H)
14 “Celebrate three festivals a year to honor me. 15 (I)In the month of Abib, the month in which you left Egypt, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread in the way that I commanded you. Do not eat any bread made with yeast during the seven days of this festival. Never come to worship me without bringing an offering.
16 (J)“Celebrate the Harvest Festival when you begin to harvest your crops.
“Celebrate the Festival of Shelters in the autumn, when you gather the fruit from your vineyards and orchards. 17 Every year at these three festivals all your men must come to worship me, the Lord your God.
18 “Do not offer bread made with yeast when you sacrifice an animal to me. The fat of animals sacrificed to me during these festivals is not to be left until the following morning.
19 (K)“Each year bring to the house of the Lord your God the first grain that you harvest.
“Do not cook a young sheep or goat in its mother's milk.
Promises and Instructions
20 “I will send an angel ahead of you to protect you as you travel and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him and obey him. Do not rebel against him, for I have sent him, and he will not pardon such rebellion. 22 But if you obey him and do everything I command, I will fight against all your enemies. 23 My angel will go ahead of you and take you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them. 24 Do not bow down to their gods or worship them, and do not adopt their religious practices. Destroy their gods and break down their sacred stone pillars. 25 If you worship me, the Lord your God, I will bless you with food and water and take away all your sicknesses. 26 In your land no woman will have a miscarriage or be without children. I will give you long lives.
27 “I will make the people who oppose you afraid of me; I will bring confusion among the people against whom you fight, and I will make all your enemies turn and run from you. 28 I will throw your enemies into panic;[a] I will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites as you advance. 29 I will not drive them out within a year's time; if I did, the land would become deserted, and the wild animals would be too many for you. 30 Instead, I will drive them out little by little, until there are enough of you to take possession of the land. 31 I will make the borders of your land extend from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Mediterranean Sea and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give you power over the inhabitants of the land, and you will drive them out as you advance. 32 Do not make any agreement with them or with their gods. 33 Do not let those people live in your country; if you do, they will make you sin against me. If you worship their gods, it will be a fatal trap for you.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 23:28 I will … panic; or I will send hornets among your enemies.
Exodus 23
The Voice
Exodus 23
The Voice
23 Eternal One: Do not pass along a false report. Do not plot with evil people to give a false witness.
2 Even if the majority of people are doing evil, do not follow them. Also when you are called to give testimony in a dispute, do not let the crowd pressure you into perverting justice. 3 In the same way, do not side with the poor in a complaint just because he is poor.
4 If you are walking along and come across your enemy’s ox or donkey that has wandered away, then you must return it to its owner. 5 If you see the donkey of someone you know who hates you and it has fallen beneath its load, you must not leave it there. You must stop and help the donkey recover the load.
6 Do not deny justice to the poor among you in their disputes. 7 Stay far away from false accusations, and do not condemn the innocent or righteous to death. Understand this: I will not acquit those who commit such miscarriages of justice.
8 Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe can blind those who see and twist the words of those who are in the right. 9 Do not oppress an outsider. You know well what it is like to be an outsider living in a foreign land, for you were strangers once in the land of Egypt.
10 You have six years to plant your fields and harvest your crops. 11 When the seventh year arrives, let your land rest and lie fallow. Let the poor and hungry among you come and harvest the volunteer crops that spring up in your fields. Whatever is left over, the beasts may eat. Do the same thing with your vineyards and your olive groves. 12 You have six days to work. When the seventh day arrives, stop all work so that your ox and donkey can rest. When you observe the Sabbath Day, your female slave’s son and any outsider serving you have a chance to catch their breath and relax.
13 Be careful to do all that I have instructed you. Do not even acknowledge the names of other gods or let their names spill from your lips.
14 I want you to celebrate a feast in My honor three times a year. 15 First, celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I instructed you before, you are to eat only bread made without yeast for the seven feast days beginning at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for that is when you fled out of Egypt. During this time, no one is to come before Me without some offering. 16 Second, celebrate the Feast of Harvest in the spring when you bring to Me the first and best of the wheat crop you planted in the field. Third, celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the harvest season when you gather your crops from the fields, orchards, and groves. 17 All of your men must come before the Eternal your Lord, these three times a year.
18 When you make offerings before Me, do not present any bread made with yeast along with an animal sacrifice. Do not let the fat of the sacrifice remain until the next morning. 19 Bring only the best crops from your first harvest into the house of the Eternal your God. You must not boil a baby goat in its mother’s milk.
20 Look! I am going to send a heavenly messenger before you to protect you during your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. 21 Pay attention to all he shows you and obey whatever he tells you. Do not cause him any trouble. He will not forgive you if you rebel against him for he carries My name in him.
The Hebrews follow a lunar calendar that has 11 fewer days than the solar calendar. Since it has only 354 days in the year, an extra month (a “leap” month) is added periodically to bring the dates into alignment with the seasons. Within this annual cycle, God sets aside several great feasts for the people to celebrate. The people are to honor their God by having days of pure rejoicing as they recall their rescue from Egypt and God’s ongoing provision. In keeping with the needs of an agricultural people, these feasts are situated around the harvests: first, the collection of the winter grains; second, the harvest of the other grains 50 days later; third, the gathering of the main crops of the field.
| Month | Length | Date of Celebration | Modern Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nisan | 30 | 14 Passover | March/April |
| 15-21 Unleavened Bread | |||
| 16 Firstfruits | |||
| Iyyar | 29 | April/May | |
| Sivan | 30 | 6 Pentecost (Weeks) | May/June |
| Tammuz | 29 | June/July | |
| Ab | 30 | July/August | |
| Elul | 29 | August/September | |
| Tishri | 30 | 1-2 Rosh Hashanah (New Year) | September/October |
| 10 Day of Atonement | |||
| 15 Ingathering (7 days) | |||
| Heshvan | 29 or 30 | October/November | |
| Chislev | 29 or 30 | 25 (8 days) Hanukkah | November/December |
| Tebeth | 29 | December/January | |
| Shebat | 30 | January/February | |
| Adar | 29 or 30 | 14-15 Purim | February/March |
| Veadar* | 29 | February/March |
* (added 7 of every 19 years)
22 If you are obedient to his voice and follow all of My instructions, then I will be an enemy to all of those who are against you, and I will oppose all those who oppose you. 23 When My messenger moves ahead of you and leads you to the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites—I will annihilate them. 24 Do not bow down to their gods, worship, or serve them in any way. Do not engage in any of their wicked practices. Instead, you must destroy every idol you find and shatter their sacred pillars into tiny pieces.
25 Worship and serve only the Eternal your God, and I will bless you with an ample supply of wholesome food and clean water. I will take away all sickness from you, 26 prevent miscarriages and barrenness, and give you long, productive lives. 27 My fear and My dread will move ahead of you, and wherever you go people will greet you with panic and confusion. I will see to it that all of your enemies turn and run from you. 28 I will unleash hornets ahead of you; and they will drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites from the land before you. 29 Now I will not do all this in a single year, because the land would become a wasteland, overpopulated with wild animals that would roam unchecked. 30 Rather, I will drive them out a little at a time—a few here, a few there—until your numbers grow and you are strong enough to take over the land and its care. 31 I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea west of where the Philistines live and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give to you all those who inhabit the land, and you will drive them all out. 32 But do not make a covenant-treaty with them or agree to serve their gods. 33 They must not be allowed to live in your land; otherwise they will cause you to sin against Me, the only True God. If you serve their gods, you will be trapped and be drawn into sin.
Exodus 23
King James Version
Exodus 23
King James Version
23 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:
3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.
4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.
6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.
7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:
11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.
12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.
14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.
18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.
20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.
23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.
25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
Éxodo 23
La Biblia de las Américas
Éxodo 23
La Biblia de las Américas
23 No propagarás falso rumor; no te concertarás[a] con el impío para ser testigo falso[b](A). 2 No seguirás a la multitud[c] para hacer el mal, ni testificarás[d] en un pleito inclinándote a la multitud[e] para pervertir la justicia(B); 3 tampoco serás parcial[f] al pobre en su pleito(C).
4 (D)Si encuentras extraviado el buey de tu enemigo o su asno, ciertamente se lo devolverás. 5 Si ves caído debajo de su carga el asno de uno que te aborrece, no se lo dejarás a él solo, ciertamente lo ayudarás a levantarlo[g]. 6 No pervertirás el derecho de tu hermano menesteroso en su pleito(E). 7 Aléjate de acusación falsa(F), y no mates al inocente ni al justo(G), porque yo no absolveré al culpable(H). 8 Y no aceptarás soborno[h], porque el soborno[i] ciega aun al de vista clara y pervierte las palabras[j] del justo(I). 9 No oprimirás al extranjero[k], porque vosotros conocéis los sentimientos[l] del extranjero[m], ya que vosotros también fuisteis extranjeros[n] en la tierra de Egipto(J).
10 (K)Seis años sembrarás tu tierra y recogerás su producto; 11 pero el séptimo año la dejarás descansar[o], sin cultivar, para que coman los pobres de tu pueblo, y de lo que ellos dejen, coman las bestias del campo. Lo mismo harás con tu viña y con tu olivar. 12 Seis días trabajarás, pero el séptimo día dejarás de trabajar, para que descansen tu buey y tu asno, y para que el hijo de tu sierva, así como el extranjero[p](L) renueven sus fuerzas. 13 Y en cuanto a todo lo que os he dicho, estad alerta(M); no mencionéis ni se oiga en vuestros labios[q](N) el nombre de otros dioses.
Fiestas anuales y primicias
14 (O)Tres veces al año me celebraréis fiesta. 15 Guardarás la fiesta de los panes sin levadura. Siete días comerás pan sin levadura(P), como yo te mandé, en el tiempo señalado del mes de Abib(Q), pues en él saliste de Egipto. Y nadie se presentará[r] ante mí con las manos vacías(R). 16 También guardarás la fiesta de la siega de los primeros frutos de tus labores, de lo que siembres en el campo(S); y la fiesta de la cosecha al fin del año cuando recojas del campo el fruto(T) de tu trabajo. 17 Tres veces al año se presentarán todos tus varones delante del Señor Dios[s](U).
18 No ofrecerás la sangre de mi sacrificio con pan leudado(V); ni la grosura de mi fiesta quedará hasta la mañana(W). 19 Traerás lo mejor de las primicias de tu tierra a la casa del Señor tu Dios(X). No cocerás el cabrito en la leche de su madre(Y).
Promesa del retorno a Canaán
20 He aquí, yo enviaré un ángel delante de ti, para que te guarde en el camino(Z) y te traiga al lugar que yo he preparado(AA). 21 Sé prudente[t] delante de él y obedece su voz; no seas rebelde contra él(AB), pues no perdonará vuestra rebelión, porque en él está mi nombre(AC). 22 Pero si en verdad obedeces su voz y haces todo lo que yo digo, entonces seré enemigo de tus enemigos y adversario de tus adversarios(AD). 23 Pues mi ángel irá delante de ti y te llevará a la tierra del amorreo, del hitita, del ferezeo, del cananeo, del heveo y del jebuseo; y los destruiré por completo(AE). 24 No adorarás sus dioses, ni los servirás, ni harás lo que ellos hacen; sino que los derribarás(AF) totalmente(AG) y harás pedazos sus pilares sagrados(AH). 25 Mas serviréis al Señor vuestro Dios, y Él bendecirá[u] tu pan y tu agua(AI); y yo quitaré las enfermedades de en medio de ti(AJ). 26 No habrá en tu tierra ninguna mujer que aborte ni que sea estéril(AK); haré que se cumpla[v] el número de tus días(AL). 27 Enviaré mi terror delante de ti(AM), y llenaré de confusión a todo pueblo donde llegues(AN); y haré que todos tus enemigos ante ti vuelvan la espalda(AO). 28 Y enviaré avispas delante de ti(AP) para que echen fuera al heveo, al cananeo y al hitita de delante de ti(AQ). 29 No los echaré de delante de ti en un solo año, a fin de que la tierra no quede desolada y se multipliquen contra ti las bestias del campo(AR). 30 Poco a poco los echaré de delante de ti(AS), hasta que te multipliques y tomes posesión de la tierra. 31 Y fijaré tus límites desde el mar Rojo[w] hasta el mar de los filisteos, y desde el desierto hasta el río Eufrates(AT); porque en tus manos entregaré a los habitantes de esa[x] tierra(AU), y tú los echarás de delante de ti(AV). 32 No harás[y] pacto con ellos(AW) ni con sus dioses(AX). 33 Ellos no habitarán en tu tierra, no sea que te hagan pecar contra mí; porque si sirves a sus dioses, ciertamente esto será tropezadero[z] para ti(AY).
Footnotes
- Éxodo 23:1 Lit., unirás tu mano
- Éxodo 23:1 O, malicioso
- Éxodo 23:2 Lit., a muchos
- Éxodo 23:2 O, responderás
- Éxodo 23:2 Lit., a muchos
- Éxodo 23:3 Lit., ni honrarás
- Éxodo 23:5 Lit., ciertamente lo librarás junto con él
- Éxodo 23:8 O, presente
- Éxodo 23:8 O, presente
- Éxodo 23:8 O, la causa
- Éxodo 23:9 O, peregrino(s)
- Éxodo 23:9 Lit., el alma
- Éxodo 23:9 O, peregrino(s)
- Éxodo 23:9 O, peregrino(s)
- Éxodo 23:11 Lit., caer
- Éxodo 23:12 Lit., el peregrino
- Éxodo 23:13 Lit., vuestra boca
- Éxodo 23:15 Lit., no se presentarán
- Éxodo 23:17 Heb., YHWH, generalmente traducido Señor
- Éxodo 23:21 Lit., Ponte en guardia
- Éxodo 23:25 O, para que bendiga
- Éxodo 23:26 O, completaré
- Éxodo 23:31 Lit., mar de Cañas
- Éxodo 23:31 Lit., la
- Éxodo 23:32 Lit., cortarás
- Éxodo 23:33 Lit., trampa
Exodus 23
New International Version
Exodus 23
New International Version
Laws of Justice and Mercy
23 “Do not spread false reports.(A) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.(B)
2 “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) 3 and do not show favoritism(E) to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s(F) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.(G) 5 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.
6 “Do not deny justice(I) to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 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)
8 “Do not accept a bribe,(N) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9 “Do not oppress a foreigner;(O) you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Sabbath Laws
10 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.(P) Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Six days do your work,(Q) but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.(R)
13 “Be careful(S) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;(T) do not let them be heard on your lips.(U)
The Three Annual Festivals
14 “Three times(V) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;(W) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(X) for in that month you came out of Egypt.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(Y)
16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest(Z) with the firstfruits(AA) of the crops you sow in your field.
“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering(AB) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.(AC)
17 “Three times(AD) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.
18 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.(AE)
“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.(AF)
19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(AG) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(AH)
God’s Angel to Prepare the Way
20 “See, I am sending an angel(AI) ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.(AJ) 21 Pay attention to him and listen(AK) to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive(AL) your rebellion,(AM) since my Name(AN) is in him. 22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do(AO) all that I say, I will be an enemy(AP) to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,(AQ) and I will wipe them out. 24 Do not bow down before their gods or worship(AR) them or follow their practices.(AS) You must demolish(AT) them and break their sacred stones(AU) to pieces. 25 Worship the Lord your God,(AV) and his blessing(AW) will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness(AX) from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be barren(AY) in your land. I will give you a full life span.(AZ)
27 “I will send my terror(BA) ahead of you and throw into confusion(BB) every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.(BC) 28 I will send the hornet(BD) ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites(BE) out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals(BF) too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession(BG) of the land.
31 “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea[a] to the Mediterranean Sea,[b] and from the desert to the Euphrates River.(BH) I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out(BI) before you. 32 Do not make a covenant(BJ) with them or with their gods. 33 Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare(BK) to you.”
Footnotes
- Exodus 23:31 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 23:31 Hebrew to the Sea of the Philistines
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
The Voice (VOICE)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.