Exodus 23 | King James Version

King James Version

1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. 2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment : 3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. 4 If thou meet thine enemy' ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 5 If 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. 6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. 7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. 8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. 9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 11 But 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. 12 Six 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. 13 And 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. 14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 15 Thou 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:) 16 And 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. 17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. 18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. 19 The 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' milk. 20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. 22 But 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. 23 For 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. 24 Thou 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. 25 And 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. 26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil. 27 I 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. 28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. 29 I 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. 30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. 31 And 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. 32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They 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.

New International Reader’s Version

Laws about mercy and fairness

1 ‘Do not spread reports that are false. Do not help a guilty person by telling lies in court. 2 ‘Do not follow the crowd when they do what is wrong. When you are a witness in court, do not turn what is right into what is wrong. Do not go along with the crowd. 3 Do not show favour to a poor person in court. 4 ‘Suppose you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering away. Then be sure to return it. 5 Suppose you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has fallen down under its load. Then do not leave it there. Be sure you help them with it. 6 ‘Be fair to your poor people in their court cases. 7 Do not have anything to do with a false charge. Do not put to death people not guilty of doing anything wrong. I will not let guilty people go free. 8 ‘Do not take money from people who want special favours. It makes you blind to the truth. It twists the words of good people. 9 ‘Do not treat outsiders badly. You yourselves know how it feels to be outsiders. Remember, you were outsiders in Egypt.

Sabbath laws

10 ‘For six years plant your fields and gather your crops. 11 But during the seventh year do not plough your land or use it. Then the poor people among you can get food from it. The wild animals can eat what is left over. Do the same thing with your vineyards and your groves of olive trees. 12 ‘Do all your work in six days. But do not do any work on the seventh day. Then your oxen and donkeys can rest. The slaves born in your house can be renewed. And so can the outsiders who live among you. 13 ‘Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not speak the names of other gods. Do not even let them be heard on your lips.

Laws about celebrating the three main feasts

14 ‘Three times a year you must celebrate a feast in my honour. 15 ‘Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days, eat bread made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Do it at the appointed time in the month of Aviv. You came out of Egypt in that month. ‘You must not come to worship me with your hands empty. 16 ‘Celebrate the Feast of Weeks. Bring the first share of your crops from your fields. ‘Celebrate the Feast of Booths. Hold it in the autumn when you gather in your crops from your fields. 17 ‘Three times a year all your men must come to worship me. I am your LORD and King. 18 ‘Do not include anything made with yeast when you offer me the blood of a sacrifice. ‘Suppose the fat from sacrifices is left over from my feasts. Then do not keep it until morning. 19 ‘Bring the best of the first share of your crops to my house. I am the LORD your God. ‘Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

God’s angel will prepare the way

20 ‘I am sending an angel ahead of you. He will guard you along the way. He will bring you to the place I have prepared. 21 Pay attention to him. Listen to what he says. Do not refuse to obey him. He will not forgive you if you turn against him. He has my full authority. 22 Listen carefully to what he says. Do everything I say. Then I will be an enemy to your enemies. I will fight against those who fight against you. 23 My angel will go ahead of you. He will bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites. I will wipe them out. 24 Do not do what they do. Do not bow down to their gods or worship them. You must destroy the statues of their gods. You must break their sacred stones to pieces. 25 Worship the LORD your God. Then he will bless your food and water. I, the LORD, will take away any disease you may have. 26 In your land no woman will give birth to a dead baby. Every woman will be able to have children. I will give you a long life. 27 ‘I will send my terror ahead of you. I will throw every nation you meet into a panic. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run away. 28 I will send hornets ahead of you. They will drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in just one year. If I did, the land would be deserted. There would be too many wild animals for you. 30 I will drive them out ahead of you little by little. I will do that until there are enough of you to take control of the land. 31 ‘I will make your borders secure from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. They will go from the desert to the River Euphrates. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land. You will drive them out to make room for yourselves. 32 Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. 33 Do not let them live in your land. If you do, they will cause you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, that will certainly be a trap for you.’