Exodus 23

¹"You shall not spread a false report. Do not join your hand with the wicked to be an unjust witness.

²You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; neither shall you testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice;

³neither shall you favor a poor man in his cause.

⁴"If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.

⁵If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, do not leave him, you shall surely help him with it.

⁶"You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.

⁷"Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous: for I will not justify the wicked.

⁸"You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹"You shall not oppress a foreigner, for you know the heart of a foreigner, seeing you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

¹⁰"For six years you shall sow your land, and shall gather in its increase,

¹¹but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the animal of the field shall eat. In like manner you shall deal with your vineyard and with your olive grove.

¹²"Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your handmaid, and the alien may be refreshed.

¹³"Be careful to do all things that I have said to you; and do not invoke the name of other gods, neither let them be heard out of your mouth.

¹⁴"You shall observe a feast to me three times a year.

¹⁵You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out from Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty.

¹⁶And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you sow in the field: and the feast of harvest, at the end of the year, when you gather in your labors out of the field.

¹⁷Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.

¹⁸"You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning.

¹⁹The first of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

²⁰"Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

²¹Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Do not provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him.

²²But if you indeed listen to his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries.

²³For my angel shall go before you, and bring you in to the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I will cut them off.

²⁴You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor follow their practices, but you shall utterly overthrow them and demolish their pillars.

²⁵You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from your midst.

²⁶No one will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will fulfill the number of your days.

²⁷I will send my terror before you, and will confuse all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

²⁸I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before you.

²⁹I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the animals of the field multiply against you.

³⁰Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and inherit the land.

³¹I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.

³²You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

³³They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."

Exodus 23

¹Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

²Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

³Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.

⁴If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

⁵If 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.

⁶Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

⁷Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

⁸And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

⁹Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

¹⁰And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:

¹¹But 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.

¹²Six 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.

¹³And 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.

¹⁴Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

¹⁵Thou 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:)

¹⁶And 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.

¹⁷Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.

¹⁸Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

¹⁹The 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.

²⁰Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

²¹Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

²²But 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.

²³For 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.

²⁴Thou 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.

²⁵And 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.

²⁶There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.

²⁷I 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.

²⁸And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

²⁹I 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.

³⁰By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

³¹And 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.

³²Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

³³They 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.