Exodus 23

Justice

23:11 “You must not give2 a false report.3 Do not make common cause4 with the wicked5 to be a malicious6 witness.

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd7 in doing evil things;8 in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,9 23:3 and you must not show partiality10 to a poor man in his lawsuit.

23:4 “If you encounter11 your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return12 it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him,13 but be sure to help14 him with it.15

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 23:7 Keep your distance16 from a false charge17 – do not kill the innocent and the righteous,18 for I will not justify the wicked.19

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see20 and subverts the words of the righteous.

23:9 “You must not oppress21 a foreigner, since you know the life22 of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Sabbaths and Feasts

23:1023 “For six years24 you are to sow your land and gather in its produce. 23:11 But in the seventh year25 you must let it lie fallow and leave it alone so that the poor of your people may eat, and what they leave any animal in the field26 may eat; you must do likewise with your vineyard and your olive grove. 23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and any hired help27 may refresh themselves.28

23:13 “Pay attention to do29 everything I have told you, and do not even mention30 the names of other gods – do not let them be heard on your lips.31

23:14 “Three times32 in the year you must make a pilgrim feast33 to me. 23:15 You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days34 you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that time35 you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before36 me empty-handed.

23:16 “You are also to observe37 the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors that you have sown in the field, and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year38 when you have gathered in39 your harvest40 out of the field. 23:17 At41 three times in the year all your males will appear before the Lord God.42

23:18 “You must not offer43 the blood of my sacrifice with bread containing yeast; the fat of my festal sacrifice must not remain until morning.44 23:19 The first of the firstfruits of your soil you must bring to the house of the Lord your God.

“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.45

The Angel of the Presence

23:2046 “I am going to send47 an angel48 before you to protect you as you journey49 and to bring you into the place that I have prepared.50 23:21 Take heed because of him, and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for my name51 is in him. 23:22 But if you diligently obey him52 and do all that I command, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will be an adversary to your adversaries. 23:23 For my angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them completely.53

23:24 “You must not bow down to their gods; you must not serve them or do according to their practices. Instead you must completely overthrow them and smash their standing stones54 to pieces.55 23:25 You must serve56 the Lord your God, and he57 will bless your bread and your water,58 and I will remove sickness from your midst. 23:26 No woman will miscarry her young59 or be barren in your land. I will fulfill60 the number of your days.

23:27 “I will send my terror61 before you, and I will destroy62 all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backs63 to you. 23:28 I will send64 hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you. 23:29 I will not drive them out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals65 multiply against you. 23:30 Little by little66 I will drive them out before you, until you become fruitful and inherit the land. 23:31 I will set67 your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River,68 for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.

23:32 “You must make no covenant with them or with their gods. 23:33 They must not live in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare69 to you.”

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