Exodus 23

1 Thou shalt not utter a false report. Do not lay thy hand with a lawless man, to become a witness helping forward violence and wrong.

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

2 Thou shalt not follow multitudes to commit wickedness, —neither shalt thou answer in a quarrel, so as to turn away after multitudes to mislead,

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

3 Even a poor man, shalt thou not prefer in his quarrel.

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

4 When thou meetest the ox of thine enemy, or his ass, going astray, thou shalt, surely bring it back, to him.

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

5 When thou seest the ass of him that hateth thee sinking down under his burden, and mightest have foreborne to unload him, thou shalt surely help him to unload,

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 vindication of thy needy one in his quarrel.

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

7 From a matter of falsehood, thou shalt keep far away, —and the innocent one and the righteous, do not thou slay, for I will not justify a lawless man.

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

8 And, a bribe, shalt thou not take, —for the bribe, blindeth the clear-sighted, 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 a sojourner, shalt thou not drive away, —seeing that, ye yourselves, know the, soul of a sojourner; for sojourners, became ye 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, shalt thou sow thy land, —and shalt gather the yield thereof;

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

11 but the seventh year, shalt thou let it rest and be still so shall the needy of thy people eat, and what they leave, shall the wild-beast of the field eat, —in like manner, shalt thou deal with thy vineyard with thine oliveyard.

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, shalt thou do thy work, but on the seventh day, shalt thou keep sabbath, —that thine ox may rest and thine ass, and that the son of thy handmaid and the sojourner 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, in all that I have said unto thee, shalt thou take heed to thyself, —and the name of other gods, shalt thou not mention, it shall not be heard upon 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 Three times, shalt thou keep festival to me, in the year.

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

15 The festival of unleavened cakes, shalt thou keep, —seven days, shalt thou eat unleavened cakes, as I commanded thee at the appointed time of the month Abib; for, therein, camest thou forth out of Egypt, —and they shall not see my face, empty-handed.

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 festival of harvest with the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou shalt sow in the field, And the festival of ingathering—at the outgoing of the year, when thou hast gathered 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, shall all thy males see the face of the Lord, Yahweh.

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

18 Thou shalt not offer with anything leavened, the blood of my sacrifice, —neither shall the fat of my festival-sacrifice remain until 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 beginning of the firstfruits of thy ground, shalt thou bring into the house of Yahweh thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of its dam.

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 Lo! I, am sending a messenger before thee, to guard thee in the way, —and to bring thee into the place which 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 Take thou heed of his presence, and hearken to his voice—do not vex him, -for he will not pardon your transgression, for, my name, is within 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 wilt indeed hearken, to his voice, and so wilt do all that I may speak, then will I 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 my messenger 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, —so will I destroy them.

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 thyself down to their gods neither shalt thou be led to serve them, neither shalt thou do according to their works, —but thou shalt, verily overthrow, them, and, completely break in pieces, their pillars.

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 So shall ye serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless thy bread and thy water, —and I will take away sickness out of 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 be nothing casting its young or barren in thy land, —the number of thy days, will I make full.

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

27 My terror, will I send before thee, and will confound all the people amongst whom thou shalt come, and will deliver up all thine enemies unto thee as they flee.

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 the hornet, before thee, —and it 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 should become a desolation, so would the wild-beast of the field multiply over 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 Little by little, will I drive them out from before thee. until thou become fruitful, then shalt thou take possession of the land.

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

31 So will I set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines and from the desert unto the River (Euphrates), —for I will deliver into your hand the inhabitants of the land, so shalt thou drive them out 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 not make with them or with their gods, a covenant:

You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.

33 they shall not dwell in thy land, lest they cause thee to sin against me, —for thou mightest serve their gods, verily! it would become to thee a snare!

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.”