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

Laws about Truthful Testimony

23 “You are not to spread a false report, nor are you to join forces[a] with the wicked to be a malicious witness. You are not to follow the majority[b] in doing wrong, and you are not to testify in a lawsuit so as to follow the majority and pervert justice. You are not to show partiality to a poor man in his lawsuit.

“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you are to certainly return it to him. If you see your enemy’s donkey lying helpless under its load, you must not abandon it; rather, you are certainly to return it to him.[c]

“You are not to pervert justice for the poor among you[d] in their lawsuits.[e] Stay far away from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent or the righteous, because I won’t acquit the guilty. You are not to take a bribe because a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and distorts the words of the righteous. You are not to oppress the resident alien, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 23:1 Lit. set your hand
  2. Exodus 23:2 Or many
  3. Exodus 23:5 Lit. leave it with him
  4. Exodus 23:6 Lit. your poor
  5. Exodus 23:6 Lit. in his lawsuit