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
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.
Exodus 23
1599 Geneva Bible
23 2 Not to follow the multitude. 13 Not to make mention of the strange gods. 14 The three solemn feasts. 20, 23 The Angel is promised to lead his people. 25 What God promiseth if they obey him. 29 God will cast out the Canaanites by little and little, and why.
1 Thou shalt not [a]receive a false tale, neither shalt thou put thine hand with the wicked, to be a [b]false witness.
2 ¶ Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, neither [c]agree in a controversy [d]to decline after many and overthrow the truth.
3 ¶ Thou shalt not esteem a poor man in his cause.
4 ¶ If thou meet thine enemy’s ox, or his ass going astray, thou shalt [e]bring him to him again.
5 If thou see thine enemy’s [f]ass lying under his burden, wilt thou cease to help him? thou shalt help him up again with it.
6 Thou shalt not overthrow the right of the poor in his suit.
7 Thou shalt keep thee far from a false matter, thou shalt not slay the [g]innocent and the righteous: for I will not justify a wicked man.
8 ¶ (A)Thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the [h]wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
9 ¶ Thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the [i]heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 (B)Moreover, six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather 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 do with thy vineyard, and with thine olive trees.
12 (C)Six days thou shalt do thy work, and in the seventh day thou shalt rest, that thine ox, and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy maid, and the stranger may be refreshed.
13 And ye shall take heed to all things that I have said unto you: and ye shall make [j]no mention of the name of other gods, neither shall it be heard out of thy mouth.
14 ¶ Three times shalt thou keep a feast unto me in the year.
15 Thou (D)shalt keep the feast of [k]unleavened bread: thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the season of the month of Abib: for in it thou camest out of Egypt: and (E)none shall appear before me empty.
16 The [l]feast also of the harvest of the first fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the [m]feast of gathering fruits in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.
17 These three times in the year shall all thy men children appear before the Lord Jehovah.
18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with [n]leavened bread: neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.
19 (F) The first of the firstfruits of thy land, thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God: yet shalt thou not seethe a kid in his [o]mother’s milk.
20 ¶ (G)Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in thy way, and to bring thee to the place which I have prepared.
21 Beware of him, and hear his voice, and provoke him not: for he will not spare your misdeeds, because my [p]name is in him.
22 But if thou hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee.
23 For mine Angel (H)shall go before thee, and bring thee unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them.
24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, neither serve them, nor do after the works of them: but (I)[q]utterly overthrow them, and break in pieces their images.
25 For ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy [r]bread and thy water, and I will take all sickness away from the midst of thee.
26 ¶ (J)There shall none cast their fruit, nor be barren in thy land, the number of thy days will I fulfill.
27 I will send my [s]fear before thee, and will destroy all the people among whom thou shalt go: and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee:
28 And I will send (K)hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from thy face.
29 I will not cast them out from thy face in one year, lest the land grow to a wilderness, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.
30 By little and little I will drive them out from thy face, until thou increase, and inherit the land.
31 And I will make thy coasts from the red sea unto the sea [t]of the Philistines, and from the [u]desert unto the [v]River: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and thou shalt drive them out from thy face.
32 (L)Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods:
33 Neither shall they dwell in the land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, surely it shall be thy [w](M)destruction.
Footnotes
- Exodus 23:1 Or, report a false tale.
- Exodus 23:1 Or, cruel.
- Exodus 23:2 Hebrew, answer.
- Exodus 23:2 Do that which is godly, though few do favor it.
- Exodus 23:4 If we be bound to do good to our enemy’s beast, much more to our enemy himself, Matt. 5:44.
- Exodus 23:5 If God command to help up our enemy’s ass under his burden, will he suffer us to cast down our brethren with heavy burdens?
- Exodus 23:7 Whether thou be magistrate or art commanded by the magistrate.
- Exodus 23:8 Hebrew, seeing.
- Exodus 23:9 For in that that he is a stranger, his heart is sorrowful enough.
- Exodus 23:13 Neither by swearing by them nor speaking of them, Ps. 16:4; Eph. 5:3.
- Exodus 23:15 That is, Easter, in remembrance that the Angel passed over and spared the Israelites, when he slew the firstborn of the Egyptians.
- Exodus 23:16 Which is Whitsuntide, in token that the Law was given 50 days after they departed from Egypt.
- Exodus 23:16 This is the feast of Tabernacles, signifying that they dwelled 40 years under the tents or the Tabernacles in wilderness.
- Exodus 23:18 No leavened bread shall be there in thine house.
- Exodus 23:19 Meaning, that no fruits should be taken before just time: and hereby are bridled all cruel and wanton appetites.
- Exodus 23:21 I will give him mine authority, and he shall govern you in my name.
- Exodus 23:24 God commandeth his not only not to worship idols, but to destroy them.
- Exodus 23:25 That is, all things necessary for this present life.
- Exodus 23:27 I will make them afraid at thy coming and send mine Angel to destroy them, as Exod. 35:2.
- Exodus 23:31 Called the Sea of Syria.
- Exodus 23:31 Of Arabia called desert.
- Exodus 23:31 To wit, Ephraim.
- Exodus 23:33 Hebrew, offense or snare.
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