Exodus 23
23
1 #
Ex 20.16; 23.7; Deut 5.20; 19.15-21. “You shall not utter a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man, to be a malicious witness. 2You shall not follow a multitude to do evil; nor shall you bear witness in a suit, turning aside after a multitude, so as to pervert justice; 3#Lev 19.15. nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his suit.
4“If you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5If you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it, you shall help him to lift it up.#23.5 Gk: Heb obscure
6“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his suit. 7#Ex 20.16; 23.1. Keep far from a false charge, and do not slay the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. 8#Deut 16.19. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
9 #
Ex 22.21; Lev 19.33,34; Deut 27.19. “You shall not oppress a stranger; you know the heart of a stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 #
Lev 25.1-7. “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; 11but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild beasts may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
12 #
Ex 20.8-11; 31.15-17; 34.21; 35.2; Deut 5.12-15. “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your ass may have rest, and the son of your bondmaid, and the alien, may be refreshed. 13Take heed to all that I have said to you; and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let such be heard out of your mouth.
14 #
Ex 34.22-24; Lev 23.1-44; Deut 16.1-17. “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 15You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread; as I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed. 16You shall keep the feast of harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the feast of ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. 17Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God.
18 #
Ex 12.10; 34.25; Lev 2.11; 7.15. “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning.
19 #
Ex 22.29; 34.26; Deut 26.2-11; 14.21. “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“Behold, I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. 21Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in him.
22“But if you hearken attentively to his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23“When my angel goes before you, and brings you in to the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, 24you shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25You shall serve the Lord your God, and I#23.25 Gk Vg: Heb he will bless your bread and your water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26None shall cast her young or be barren in your land; I will fulfil the number of your days. 27I will send my terror before you, and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out Hivite, Canaanite, and Hittite from before you. 29I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you are increased and possess the land. 31And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. 33They 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.”
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Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America
Exodus 23
23
Equal Justice for All
The Lord said:
1 #
Ex 20.16; Lv 19.11,12; Dt 5.20. Don't spread harmful rumors or help a criminal by giving false evidence.
2Always tell the truth in court, even if everyone else is#23.2 everyone else is: Or “the authorities are.” dishonest and stands in the way of justice. 3#Lv 19.15. And don't favor the poor, simply because they are poor.
4 #
Dt 22.1-4. If you find an ox or a donkey that has wandered off, take it back where it belongs, even if the owner is your enemy.
5If a donkey is overloaded and falls down, you must do what you can to help, even if it belongs to someone who doesn't like you.#23.5 you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
6 #
Lv 19.15; Dt 16.18,19. Make sure that the poor are given equal justice in court. 7Don't bring false charges against anyone or sentence an innocent person to death. I won't forgive you if you do.
8Don't accept bribes. Judges are blinded and justice is twisted by bribes.
9 #
Ex 22.21; Lv 19.33,34; Dt 24.17,18; 27.14-26. Don't mistreat foreigners. You were foreigners in Egypt, and you know what it is like.
Laws for the Sabbath
The Lord said:
10 #
Lv 25.1-7. Plant and harvest your crops for six years, 11but let the land rest during the seventh year. The poor are to eat what they want from your fields, vineyards, and olive trees during that year, and when they have all they want from your fields, leave the rest for wild animals.
12 #
Ex 20.9-11; 31.15; 34.21; 35.2; Lv 23.3; Dt 5.13,14. Work the first six days of the week, but rest and relax on the seventh day. This law is not only for you, but for your oxen, donkeys, and slaves, as well as for any foreigners among you.
13Make certain that you obey everything I have said. Don't pray to other gods or even mention their names.
Three Annual Festivals
(Exodus 34.18-26; Deuteronomy 16.1-17)
The Lord said:
14Celebrate three festivals each year in my honor.
15 #
Ex 12.14-20; Lv 23.6-8; Nu 28.17-25. Celebrate the Festival of Thin Bread by eating bread made without yeast, just as I have commanded.#23.15 as I have commanded: See 12.14-20. Do this at the proper time during the month of Abib,#23.15 Abib: See the note at 12.2. because it is the month when you left Egypt. And make certain that everyone brings the proper offerings.
16 #
Lv 23.15-21; Nu 28.26-31;
Lv 23.39-43. Celebrate the Harvest Festival#23.16 Harvest Festival: Traditionally called the “Festival of Weeks” and known in New Testament times as “Pentecost.” each spring when you start harvesting your wheat, and celebrate the Festival of Shelters#23.16 Festival of Shelters: The Hebrew text has “Festival of Ingathering” (so also in 34.22), which was the final harvesting of crops and fruits before the autumn rains began. But the usual name was “Festival of Shelters.” each autumn when you pick your fruit.
17Your men must come to these three festivals each year to worship me.
18Do not offer bread made with yeast when you sacrifice an animal to me. And make sure that the fat of the animal is burned that same day.
19 #
Dt 26.2; Ex 34.26;
Dt 14.21. Each year bring the best part of your first harvest to the place of worship.
Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
A Promise and a Warning
The Lord said:
20I am sending an angel to protect you and to lead you into the land I have ready for you. 21Carefully obey everything the angel says, because I am giving him complete authority, and he won't tolerate rebellion. 22If you faithfully obey him, I will be a fierce enemy of your enemies. 23My angel will lead you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. 24Don't worship their gods or follow their customs. Instead, destroy their idols and shatter their stone images.
25Worship only me, the Lord your God! I will bless you with plenty of food and water and keep you strong. 26Your women will give birth to healthy children, and everyone will live a long life.
27I will terrify those nations and make your enemies so confused that they will run from you. 28I will make the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites panic as you approach. 29But I won't do all this in the first year, because the land would become poor, and wild animals would be everywhere. 30Instead, I will force out your enemies little by little and give your nation time to grow strong enough to take over the land.
31I will see that your borders reach from the Red Sea#23.31 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, here referring to the Gulf of Aqaba, since the term is extended to include the northeastern arm of the Red Sea (see also the note at 13.18). to the Euphrates River and from the Mediterranean Sea to the desert. I will let you defeat the people who live there, and you will force them out of the land. 32But you must not make any agreements with them or with their gods. 33Don't let them stay in your land. They will trap you into sinning against me and worshiping their gods.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.