Exodus 23

1 'Thou dost not lift up a vain report; thou dost not put thy hand with a wicked man to be a violent witness.

"You shall not spread a false report. Do not join your hand with the wicked to be an unjust witness.

2 'Thou art not after many to evil, nor dost thou testify concerning a strife, to turn aside after many to cause [others] to turn aside;

You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; neither shall you testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice;

3 and a poor man thou dost not honour in his strife.

neither shall you favor a poor man in his cause.

4 'When thou meetest thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou dost certainly turn it back to him;

"If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.

5 when thou seest the ass of him who is hating thee crouching under its burden, then thou hast ceased from leaving [it] to it — thou dost certainly leave [it] with him.

If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, do not leave him, you shall surely help him with it.

6 'Thou dost not turn aside the judgment of thy needy one in his strife;

"You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.

7 from a false matter thou dost keep far off, and an innocent and righteous man thou dost not slay; for I do not justify a wicked man.

"Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous: for I will not justify the wicked.

8 'And a bribe thou dost not take; for the bribe bindeth the open -[eyed], and perverteth the words of the righteous.

"You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.

9 'And a sojourner thou dost not oppress, and ye — ye have known the soul of the sojourner, for sojourners ye have been in the land of Egypt.

"You shall not oppress a foreigner, for you know the heart of a foreigner, seeing you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

10 'And six years thou dost sow thy land, and hast gathered its increase;

"For six years you shall sow your land, and shall gather in its increase,

11 and the seventh thou dost release it, and hast left it, and the needy of thy people have eaten, and their leaving doth the beast of the field eat; so dost thou to thy vineyard — to thine olive-yard.

but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the animal of the field shall eat. In like manner you shall deal with your vineyard and with your olive grove.

12 'Six days thou dost do thy work, and on the seventh day thou dost rest, so that thine ox and thine ass doth rest, and the son of thine handmaid and the sojourner is refreshed;

"Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your handmaid, and the alien may be refreshed.

13 and in all that which I have said unto you ye do take heed; and the name of other gods ye do not mention; it is not heard on thy mouth.

"Be careful to do all things that I have said to you; and do not invoke the name of other gods, neither let them be heard out of your mouth.

14 'Three times thou dost keep a feast to Me in a year;

"You shall observe a feast to me three times a year.

15 the Feast of Unleavened things thou dost keep; seven days thou dost eat unleavened things, as I have commanded thee, at the time appointed [in] the month of Abib; for in it thou hast come forth out of Egypt, and ye do not appear [in] My presence empty;

You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out from Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty.

16 and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of thy works which thou sowest in the field; and the Feast of the In-Gathering, in the outgoing of the year, in thy gathering thy works out of the field.

And the feast of harvest, the first fruits of your labors, which you sow in the field: and the feast of harvest, at the end of the year, when you gather in your labors out of the field.

17 'Three times in a year do all thy males appear before the face of the Lord Jehovah.

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

18 'Thou dost not sacrifice on a fermented thing the blood of My sacrifice, and the fat of My festival doth not remain till morning;

"You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning.

19 the beginning of the first-fruits of thy ground thou dost bring into the house of Jehovah thy God; thou dost not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

The first of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

20 'Lo, I am sending a messenger before thee to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee in unto the place which I have prepared;

"Look, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

21 be watchful because of his presence, and hearken to his voice, rebel not against him, for he beareth not with your transgression, for My name [is] in his heart;

Pay attention to him, and listen to his voice. Do not provoke him, for he will not pardon your disobedience, for my name is in him.

22 for, if thou diligently hearken to his voice, and hast done all that which I speak, then I have been at enmity with thine enemies, and have distressed those distressing thee.

But if you indeed listen to his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries.

23 'For My messenger goeth before thee, and hath brought thee in unto the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, and I have cut them off.

For my angel shall go before you, and bring you in to the Amorite, and the Hethite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I will cut them off.

24 'Thou dost not bow thyself to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their doings, but dost utterly devote them, and thoroughly break their standing pillars.

You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor follow their practices, but you shall utterly overthrow them and demolish their pillars.

25 'And ye have served Jehovah your God, and He hath blessed thy bread and thy water, and I have turned aside sickness from thine heart;

You shall serve the LORD your God, and I will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from your midst.

26 there is not a miscarrying and barren one in thy land; the number of thy days I fulfil:

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

27 My terror I send before thee, and I have put to death all the people among whom thou comest, and I have given the neck of all thine enemies unto thee.

I will send my terror before you, and will confuse all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

28 'And I have sent the hornet before thee, and it hath cast out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee;

I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hethite, from before you.

29 I cast them not out from before thee in one year, lest the land be a desolation, and the beast of the field hath multiplied against thee;

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

30 little [by] little I cast them out from before thee, till thou art fruitful, and hast inherited the land.

Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and inherit the land.

31 'And I have set thy border from the Red Sea, even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the River: for I give into your hand the inhabitants of the land, and thou hast cast them out from before thee;

I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.

32 thou dost not make a covenant with them, and with their gods;

You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

33 they do not dwell in thy land, lest they cause thee to sin against Me when thou servest their gods, when it becometh a snare to thee.'

They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."