Exo 23 | NASB1995 | STEP | “ You shall not bear a false report ; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness .

Exodus 23

Sundry Laws

1 ^a“You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a ^bmalicious witness. 2 “You shall not follow ^{▼▼ Lit many men}the masses in doing evil, nor shall you ^{▼▼ Or answer}testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after ^{▼▼ Lit many men}a multitude in order to ^fpervert justice; 3 ^gnor shall you ^{▼▼ Lit honor}be partial to a poor man in his dispute.

4 ⁱ“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him. 5 ^j“If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

6 ^k“You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute. 7 ^l“Keep far from a false charge, and ^mdo not kill the innocent or the righteous, for ⁿI will not acquit the guilty.

8 ^o“You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and ^{▼▼ Or distorts the words}subverts the cause of the just.

9 ^q“You shall not oppress a ^{▼▼ Or sojourner(s)}stranger, since you yourselves know the ^{▼▼ Lit soul}feelings of a ^{▼▼ Or sojourner(s)}stranger, for you also were ^{▼▼ Or sojourner(s)}strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Sabbath and Land

10 ^v“You shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield, 11 but on the seventh year you shall let it ^{▼▼ Lit drop}rest and lie fallow, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the beast of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

12 ^x“Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as ^{▼▼ Lit the sojourner}your stranger, may refresh themselves. 13 “Now ^zconcerning everything which I have said to you, be on your guard; and ^aado not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard ^{▼▼ Lit on}from your mouth.

Three National Feasts

14 ^ac“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me. 15 “You shall observe ^adthe Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the ^aemonth Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. And ^{▼▼ Lit they...not
,} ^agnone shall appear before Me empty-handed. 16 “Also you shall observe ^ahthe Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year ^aiwhen you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field. 17 ^aj“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord ^{▼▼ Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord}God.

18 ^al“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; ^amnor is the fat of My ^{▼▼ Or festival}feast to remain overnight until morning.

19 “You shall bring ^aothe choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.

^ap“You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.

Conquest of the Land

20 “Behold, I am going to send ^aqan angel before you to guard you along the way and ^arto bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 “Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; ^asdo not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since ^atMy name is in him. 22 “But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then ^auI will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 ^av“For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them. 24 ^aw“You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; ^axbut you shall utterly overthrow them and break their ^ay sacred pillars in pieces. 25 ^az“But you shall serve the Lord your God, ^{▼▼ Or that He may bless}and He will bless your bread and your water; and ^bbI will remove sickness from your midst. 26 “There shall be no one miscarrying or ^bcbarren in your land; ^bdI will fulfill the number of your days. 27 “I will ^besend My terror ahead of you, and ^bfthrow into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will ^bgmake all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 “I will send ^bhhornets ahead of you so that they will ^bidrive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites before you. 29 ^bj“I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 “I will drive them out before you ^bklittle by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land. 31 ^bl“I will fix your boundary from the ^{▼▼ Lit Sea of Reeds}Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; ^bnfor I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will ^bodrive them out before you. 32 ^bp“You shall ^{▼▼ Lit cut}make no covenant with them ^bror with their gods. 33 ^bs“They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, ^btit will surely be a snare to you.”