Exodus 23:1-9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Justice for All
23 “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness.(A) 2 You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice,[a](B) 3 nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.
4 “When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.(C)
5 “When you see the donkey of one who hates you struggling under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.(D)
6 “You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits.(E) 7 Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty.(F) 8 You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds officials and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.(G)
9 “You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.(H)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 23.2 Gk: Heb lacks justice
Exodus 23:1-9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
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)
2 “You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.(B) 3 Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.
5 “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)
6 “You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. 7 Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.(D) 8 You must not take a bribe,(E) for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words[c] of the righteous. 9 You must not oppress a foreign resident;(F) you yourselves know how it feels to be a foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 23:1 Lit join hands with
- Exodus 23:5 Or load, you must refrain from leaving it to him; you must set it free with him
- Exodus 23:8 Or and subverts the cause
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.