Exodus 23
1 “Do not tell to others (false rumors/untrue reports) about other people. Do not help someone who is guilty by (testifying falsely/lying) [about what happened].
| לא תשא שמע שוא אל תשת ידך עם רשע להית עד חמס |
2 Do not join a group of people who are planning to do something evil. Do not testify the way the [crowd wants you to], if that will prevent [the judge from deciding the case] justly/fairly.
| לא תהיה אחרי רבים לרעת ולא תענה על רב לנטת אחרי רבים--להטת |
3 When a poor person is on trial, do not [testify in] his favor [just] because he is poor [and you feel sorry for him].
| ודל לא תהדר בריבו |
4 If you see someone’s bull or donkey when it is wandering away [loose], take it back to [its owner, even if the owner] is your enemy.
| כי תפגע שור איבך או חמרו--תעה השב תשיבנו לו |
5 If you see someone’s donkey that has fallen down [because of its heavy load], help the owner to get the donkey up again, [even if] he is someone who hates you. Do not just walk away [without helping him].
| כי תראה חמור שנאך רבץ תחת משאו וחדלת מעזב לו--עזב תעזב עמו |
6 Decide the cases of poor people who are on trial [as] fairly [as you decide the cases of other people].
| לא תטה משפט אבינך בריבו |
7 Do not accuse people falsely. Do not decide that innocent and righteous [DOU] people should be executed, because I will (punish/not forgive) people who do such an evil thing.
| מדבר שקר תרחק ונקי וצדיק אל תהרג כי לא אצדיק רשע |
8 Do not accept money that is a bribe, because officials who accept bribes are not able to [MTY] decide what is right to do, and they do not allow innocent people to be treated fairly.
| ושחד לא תקח כי השחד יעור פקחים ויסלף דברי צדיקים |
9 Do not mistreat foreigners [who live among you]. You know [how people often treat] foreigners, because the Egyptians [did not treat you well when] you were foreigners there.
| וגר לא תלחץ ואתם ידעתם את נפש הגר--כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים |
10 Plant [seeds] in your ground and gather the harvest for six years.
| ושש שנים תזרע את ארצך ואספת את תבואתה |
11 But during the seventh year you must not plant anything. [If things grow without your planting seeds], allow poor people [to harvest and] eat the crops. If there are still crops (left over/that they do not harvest), allow wild animals to eat them. Do the same thing with your grapevines/vineyards and your olive trees.
| והשביעת תשמטנה ונטשתה ואכלו אביני עמך ויתרם תאכל חית השדה כן תעשה לכרמך לזיתך |
12 [You may] work for six days [each week], but on the seventh day you must rest [and not work]. And on the seventh day you must allow your work animals and your slaves and the foreigners [who live among you] also [to rest and] be refreshed.
| ששת ימים תעשה מעשיך וביום השביעי תשבת--למען ינוח שורך וחמרך וינפש בן אמתך והגר |
13 Make certain that you obey everything that I have commanded [you to do]. Do not pray to [MTY] other gods. Do not even mention their names.”
| ובכל אשר אמרתי אליכם תשמרו ושם אלהים אחרים לא תזכירו לא ישמע על פיך |
14 “Every year you must celebrate three festivals to [honor] me.
| שלש רגלים תחג לי בשנה |
15 [The first one] is the Festival of Bread That Has No Yeast. Celebrate it in the month [that is named] Abib. That is the month in which you left Egypt. Celebrate it in the way that I commanded you. And always bring [LIT] an offering when you come to worship me.
| את חג המצות תשמר--שבעת ימים תאכל מצות כאשר צויתך למועד חדש האביב כי בו יצאת ממצרים ולא יראו פני ריקם |
16 The second one is the Festival of Harvesting. During that festival you must offer to me the first parts/harvest of your crops that grow from the seeds that you planted. The third one is the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters. That will be after you finish harvesting your grain and grapes and fruit.
| וחג הקציר בכורי מעשיך אשר תזרע בשדה וחג האסף בצאת השנה באספך את מעשיך מן השדה |
17 Every year, at each of these times, all the men must gather together to worship me, Yahweh God.
| שלש פעמים בשנה--יראה כל זכורך אל פני האדן יהוה |
18 When you sacrifice an animal [and offer it] to me, you must not offer bread that has been baked with yeast. [When you] offer sacrifices, [burn] the fat [from the animals on that same day]. Do not allow any fat to remain until the next morning.
| לא תזבח על חמץ דם זבחי ולא ילין חלב חגי עד בקר |
19 Each year, when you harvest your crops, bring to the place where you worship me, Yahweh God, the first part of what you harvest. When you kill a (young animal/kid [or lamb or calf)], do not [prepare to eat it by] boiling it in its mother’s milk.”
| ראשית בכורי אדמתך תביא בית יהוה אלהיך לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו |
20 “Note this: I am going to send an angel ahead of you, to guard you as you travel and to bring you safely to the place that I have prepared [for you]. Pay attention to what he says and obey him. Do not rebel against him, because he will have my authority [MTY] and he will (punish/not forgive) [LIT] you if you rebel against him.
| הנה אנכי שלח מלאך לפניך לשמרך בדרך ולהביאך אל המקום אשר הכנתי |
| השמר מפניו ושמע בקלו אל תמר בו כי לא ישא לפשעכם כי שמי בקרבו |
22 But if you pay attention to what he says and if you do all that I tell you [to do], I will fight strongly [DOU] against all of your enemies.
| כי אם שמוע תשמע בקלו ועשית כל אשר אדבר--ואיבתי את איביך וצרתי את צרריך |
23 My angel will go ahead of you, and will take you to where the Amor and Heth and Periz and Canaan and Hiv and Jebus people-groups live, and I will completely get rid of them.
| כי ילך מלאכי לפניך והביאך אל האמרי והחתי והפרזי והכנעני החוי והיבוסי והכחדתיו |
24 Do not bow down before their gods/idols or worship them. And do not do the things [that they think that their gods want] them to do. Completely destroy their gods/idols, and smash to pieces their sacred stones.
| לא תשתחוה לאלהיהם ולא תעבדם ולא תעשה כמעשיהם כי הרס תהרסם ושבר תשבר מצבתיהם |
25 You must worship me, Yahweh God. [If you do that], I will bless your (OR, bless [you by giving you]) food and water, and I will protect you from becoming sick.
| ועבדתם את יהוה אלהיכם וברך את לחמך ואת מימיך והסרתי מחלה מקרבך |
26 No women in your land will have (miscarriages/babies that will die after being born prematurely), and no women will be unable to become pregnant. And I will enable you to live a long time.
| לא תהיה משכלה ועקרה בארצך את מספר ימיך אמלא |
27 I will cause the people who oppose you to become very afraid of me. I will cause the people whom you fight against to become very confused. And then I will cause them to turn around and run away from you.
| את אימתי אשלח לפניך והמתי את כל העם אשר תבא בהם ונתתי את כל איביך אליך ערף |
28 I will cause your enemies to become terrified. And I will expel the Hiv, Canaan, and Heth people-groups from your land.
| ושלחתי את הצרעה לפניך וגרשה את החוי את הכנעני ואת החתי--מלפניך |
29 I will not expel [all of] them in less than one year. If I did that, your land would become deserted, and there would be very many wild animals ([that would attack you/you would not be able to control]).
| לא אגרשנו מפניך בשנה אחת פן תהיה הארץ שממה ורבה עליך חית השדה |
30 I will expel those people-groups slowly, a few at a time, until the number of your people increases and you are able to live everywhere in the land.
| מעט מעט אגרשנו מפניך עד אשר תפרה ונחלת את הארץ |
31 I will cause the borders of your land to extend from the (Red Sea/Gulf of Aqaba) [in the southeast] to the Mediterranean Sea [in the northwest], and from the [Sinai] Desert [in the southwest] to the [Euphrates] River [in the northeast of the country]. I will enable you [MTY] to expel the people who live there, so that you will expel them as you occupy more of the country.
| ושתי את גבלך מים סוף ועד ים פלשתים וממדבר עד הנהר כי אתן בידכם את ישבי הארץ וגרשתמו מפניך |
32 You must not make any agreement/treaty with those people or with their gods.
| לא תכרת להם ולאלהיהם ברית |
33 Do not allow [those people] to live in your land, in order that they do not cause you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, [you will not be able to escape from worshiping them and sinning against me, just like someone caught] in a trap [is unable to escape] [MET].”
| לא ישבו בארצך פן יחטיאו אתך לי כי תעבד את אלהיהם כי יהיה לך למוקש |
