Exodus 23

¹Thou schalt not resseyue a vois of leesyng, nether thou schalt ioyne thin hond , that thou seie fals witnessyng for a wickid man.

²Thou schalt not sue the cumpanye to do yuel, nether thou schalt ascente to the sentence of ful many men in doom, that thou go awey fro treuthe.

³Also thou schalt not haue mercy of a pore man in a `cause, ethir doom .

⁴If thou meetist `the oxe of thin enemye, ethir the asse errynge, lede thou ayen to hym.

⁵If thou seest that the asse of hym that hatith thee liggyth vndir a burthun, thou schalt not passe, but thou schalt reise with hym.

⁶Thou schalt not bowe in the doom of a pore man.

⁷Thou schalt fle a lesyng. Thou schalt not sle an innocent man, and iust; for Y am aduersarie to a wickid man.

⁸Take thou not yiftis, that blynden also prudent men, and destryen the wordys of iust men.

⁹Thou schalt not be diseseful to a pilgrym, for ye knowen the soulis of comelyngis, for also ye weren pilgryms in the lond of Egipt.

¹⁰Sixe yeer thou schalt sowe thi lond, and thou schalt gadre fruytis therof;

¹¹forsothe in the seuenthe yeer thou schalt leeue it, and schalt make to reste, that the pore men of thi puple ete, and what euer is residue, the beestis of the feeld ete; so thou schalt do in thi vyner, and in place of olyue trees.

¹²Sixe dayes thou schalt worche, in the seuenthe dai thou schalt ceesse, that thin oxe and asse reste, and the sone of thin handmaide, and the comelyng be refreischid.

¹³Kepe ye alle thingis, whiche Y seide to you; and ye schulen not swere bi the name of alien goddis, nether it schal be herd of youre mouth.

¹⁴In thre tymes bi alle yeeris ye schulen halewe feestis to me.

¹⁵Thou schalt kepe the solempnyte of therf looues; seuene daies thou schalt ete therf breed, as Y comaundide to thee, in the tyme of monethe of newe thingis, whanne thou yedist out of Egipt; thou schalt not appere voide in my siyt.

¹⁶And thou schalt kepe the solempnete of the monethe of the firste thingis of thi werk, what euer thingis thou hast sowe in the feeld. Also thou schalt kepe the solempnyte in the goyng out of the yeer, whanne thou hast gaderid all thi fruytis of the feeld.

¹⁷Thries in the yeer al thi male kynde schal appere bifore thi Lord God.

¹⁸Thou schalt not offre the blood of thi slayn sacrifice on sour douy; nether the fatnesse of my solempnete schal dwelle til to the morewtid.

¹⁹Thou schalt bere the firste thingis of the fruytis of thi lond in to the hows of thi Lord God. Thou schalt not sethe a kide in the mylke of his modir.

²⁰Lo! Y schal sende myn aungel, that schal go bifore thee, and schal kepe in the weie, and schal lede to the place which Y haue maad redi to thee.

²¹Take thou hede to hym , and here thou his vois, nether gesse thou hym to be dispisid; for he schal not foryyue, whanne thou synnest, and my name is in him.

²²For if thou herest his vois, and doist alle thingis whiche Y speke, Y schal be enemy to thin enemyes, and Y schal turment hem, that turmenten thee;

²³and myn aungel schal go bifore thee, and he schal lede yn thee to Amorrei, and Ethei, and Ferezei, and Cananey, and Euey, and Jebusei, whiche Y schal breke.

²⁴Thou schalt not onoure `the goddis of hem, nether thou schalt worschipe hem; thou schalt not do the werkis of hem, but thou schalt destrie the goddis, and thou schalt breke the ymagis of hem.

²⁵And ye schulen serue to youre Lord God, that Y blesse thi looues, and watris, and do awei sikenesse fro the myddis of thee;

²⁶neithir a womman vnfruytful, neither bareyn, schal be in thi lond; Y schal fille the noumbre of thi daies.

²⁷Y schal sende my drede in to thi biforgoyng, and Y schal sle al the puple, to which thou schalt entre, and Y schal turne the backis of alle thin enemyes bifore thee;

²⁸and Y schal sende out bifore scrabrouns , that schulen dryue awei Euey, and Cananey, and Ethei, bifore that thou entre.

²⁹Y schal not caste hem out fro thi face in o yeer, lest the lond be turned in to wildirnesse, and beestis encreesse ayens thee;

³⁰litil and litil I schal caste hem out fro thi siyt, til thou be encreessid, and welde the loond.

³¹Forsothe Y schal sette thi termys fro the reed see til to the see of Palestyns, and fro desert til to the flood. Y schal yyue to youre hondis the dwelleris of the lond, and Y schal caste hem out fro youre siyt;

³²thou schalt not make boond of pees with hem, nethir with `the goddis of hem.

³³Dwelle thei not in thi lond, lest perauenture thei make thee to do synne ayens me, yf thou seruest her goddis, which thing certis schal be to thee in to sclaundir.

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.