Exodus 23

1 Thou shalt not accept a false report; extend not thy hand to the wicked, to be an unrighteous witness.

“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.

2 Thou shalt not follow the multitude for evil; neither shalt thou answer in a cause, to go after the multitude to pervert [judgment].

You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.

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

And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

4 — If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt certainly bring it back to him.

If you encounter your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, beware of leaving [it] to him: thou shalt certainly loosen [it] with him.

If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not leave it there; you must help him with it.

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

You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.

7 Thou shalt keep far from the cause of falsehood; and the innocent and righteous slay not; for I will not justify the wicked.

Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.

8 And thou shalt take no bribe; for the bribe blindeth those whose eyes are open, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

9 And the stranger thou shalt not oppress; for ye know the spirit of the stranger, for ye have been strangers in the land of Egypt.

Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in its produce;

For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce,

11 but in the seventh thou shalt let it rest and lie [fallow], that the poor of thy people may eat [of it]; and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thine olive-tree.

but in the seventh year you must let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat from the field and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.

12 — Six days thou shalt do thy work, but 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.

For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.

13 And ye shall be on your guard as to everything that I have said unto you; and shall make no mention of the name of other gods — it shall not be heard in thy mouth.

Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.

14 Thrice in the year thou shalt celebrate a feast to me.

Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.

15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread, (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I have commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear in my presence empty; )

You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.

16 and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours which thou hast sown in the field, and the feast of in-gathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.

You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.

17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear in the presence of the Lord Jehovah.

Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD.

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

You must not offer the blood of My sacrifices with anything leavened, nor may the fat of My feast remain until morning.

19 The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

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

Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.

21 Be careful in his presence, and hearken unto his voice: do not provoke him, for he will not forgive your transgressions; for my name is in him.

Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt diligently hearken unto his voice, and do all that I shall say, then I will be an enemy to thine enemies, and an adversary to thine adversaries.

But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.

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.

For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their deeds; but thou shalt utterly destroy them, and utterly shatter their statues.

You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.

25 And ye shall serve Jehovah your God; and he shall bless thy bread and thy water; and I will take sickness away from thy midst.

So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you.

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

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

27 I will send my fear before thee, and confound every people to which thou comest, and will make all thine enemies turn their back to thee.

I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.

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

I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.

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.

I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you.

30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou art fruitful, and possess the land.

Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land.

31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the river; for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, that thou mayest dispossess them from before thee.

And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

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

You shall make no covenant with them or 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 is sure to be a snare unto thee.

They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”