Exodus 23

1 Thou shalt not utter a false report; put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

“You must not spread stories that are lies. You must not help bad people by giving evidence that's malicious.

2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to pervert justice;

Don't follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give evidence in a lawsuit, don't corrupt justice by siding with the majority.

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

Don't show favoritism to poor people in their legal cases either.

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

If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey that has wandered off, take it back it to him.

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, thou shalt forbear to pass by him; thou shalt surely release it with him.

If you see the donkey of someone who hates you that has fallen under its load, don't just leave it there. You must stop and help.

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

You must not prevent the poor from getting justice in their lawsuits.

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

Don't have anything to do with making false accusations. Don't kill the innocent or those who do right, for I won't let the guilty go unpunished.

8 And thou shalt take no gift; for a gift blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

Don't accept bribes, for a bribe blinds those who can see, and undermines the evidence of the honest.

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

Don't abuse foreigners living among you, since you know very well what it's like to be foreigners, for you were once foreigners in Egypt.

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in the increase thereof;

Six years you are to sow your land and harvest crops,

11 but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of thy people may eat; and what they leave the beast of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

but in the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that poor people may eat what grows naturally from the field and the wild animals can finish what's left. Follow the same procedure for your vineyards and olive groves.

12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may have rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

You have six days to do your work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, so that your ox and your donkey can rest, and your slaves' families can catch their breath, as well as the foreigners living among you.

13 And in all things that I have said unto you take ye heed; and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

Make sure to pay attention to everything I've told you. Don't think to call on the names of other gods—you must not even mention them.

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

Three times every year you are to celebrate a feast dedicated to me.

15 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep; seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib — for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty;

You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread as I instructed you. You are to eat bread without yeast for seven days at the appropriate time in the month of Abib, because that was the month you left Egypt. No one can come before me without bringing an offering.

16 and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou sowest in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.

You are also to observe the Festival of Harvest when you present the firstfruits of the produce from what you've sown in the fields. Lastly you are to observe the Festival of Gathering-In the Harvest at the end of the year, when you gather in the harvest of the rest of your crops from the field.

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

Every Israelite male is to come before the Lord God at these three times every year.

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 together with anything that contains yeast, and the fat from the offerings presented at my festival must not be left until morning.

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

Bring the best firstfruits of your crops to the house of the Lord your God. Don't cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

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

Look, I'm sending an angel ahead of you to protect you on the way and to take you to the place I've prepared for you.

21 Take heed of him, and hearken unto his voice; be not rebellious against him; for he will not pardon your transgression; for My name is in him.

Make sure you pay attention to him and do what he says. Don't oppose him, because he won't forgive rebellion, for he carries my authority.

22 But if thou shalt indeed hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

However, if you listen to him carefully, and do everything that I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and I will fight those who fight against you.

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

For my angel will go ahead of you and take you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their doings; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and break in pieces their pillars.

You must not bow down to their gods or worship them or follow their pagan practices. No, you must demolish their idols and smash their sacred pillars into pieces.

25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

You are to worship the Lord your God, and he will bless your food and water. I will make sure none of you fall sick.

26 None shall miscarry, nor be barren, in thy land; the number of thy days I will fulfil.

No woman will have a miscarriage or be without children. I will make sure you live long lives.

27 I will send My terror before thee, and will discomfit all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

I will send terror about me ahead of you which will throw every nation you meet into panic. I will make all your enemies turn and run away.

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

I will send hornets ahead of you to drive out before you the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites.

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

I will not drive them out in just one year, because the land would become desolate and you would have to deal with increased numbers of wild animals.

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

Bit by bit I will drive them out ahead of you, until there are enough of you to take possession of the land.

31 And I will set thy border from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

I will fix your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out.

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

You must not make any agreement with them or with their gods.

33 They shall not dwell in thy land — lest they make thee sin against Me, for thou wilt serve their gods — for they will be a snare unto thee.

They must not be allowed to stay in your land, otherwise they will lead you to sin against me. For if you worship their gods, they will definitely become a trap for you.”