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23 “You shall not spread a false report. Don’t join your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness.

“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice. You shall not favor a poor man in his cause.

“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, don’t leave him. You shall surely help him with it.

“You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.

“Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked.

“You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.

“You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, since you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

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Laws about Honesty and Justice

23 “You must not spread a false report. Do not join[a] the wicked to be a malicious witness.(A)

“You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.(B) Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.

“If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.

“If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.[b](C)

“You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.(D) You must not take a bribe,(E) for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words[c] of the righteous. You must not oppress a resident alien;(F) you yourselves know how it feels to be a resident alien because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:1 Lit join hands with
  2. 23:5 Or load, you must refrain from leaving it to him; you must set it free with him
  3. 23:8 Or and subverts the cause