Exodus 23

1 Thou shalt not accept a false report; extend not thy hand to the wicked, to be an unrighteous witness.

“You must not spread stories that are lies. You must not help bad people by giving evidence that's malicious.

2 Thou shalt not follow the multitude for evil; neither shalt thou answer in a cause, to go after the multitude to pervert [judgment].

Don't follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give evidence in a lawsuit, don't corrupt justice by siding with the majority.

3 Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.

Don't show favoritism to poor people in their legal cases either.

4 — If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt certainly bring it back to him.

If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey that has wandered off, take it back it to him.

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, beware of leaving [it] to him: thou shalt certainly loosen [it] with him.

If you see the donkey of someone who hates you that has fallen under its load, don't just leave it there. You must stop and help.

6 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

You must not prevent the poor from getting justice in their lawsuits.

7 Thou shalt keep far from the cause of falsehood; and the innocent and righteous slay not; for I will not justify the wicked.

Don't have anything to do with making false accusations. Don't kill the innocent or those who do right, for I won't let the guilty go unpunished.

8 And thou shalt take no bribe; for the bribe blindeth those whose eyes are open, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

Don't accept bribes, for a bribe blinds those who can see, and undermines the evidence of the honest.

9 And the stranger thou shalt not oppress; for ye know the spirit of the stranger, for ye have been strangers in the land of Egypt.

Don't abuse foreigners living among you, since you know very well what it's like to be foreigners, for you were once foreigners in Egypt.

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in its produce;

Six years you are to sow your land and harvest crops,

11 but in the seventh thou shalt let it rest and lie [fallow], that the poor of thy people may eat [of it]; and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thine olive-tree.

but in the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that poor people may eat what grows naturally from the field and the wild animals can finish what's left. Follow the same procedure for your vineyards and olive groves.

12 — Six days thou shalt do thy work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger may be refreshed.

You have six days to do your work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, so that your ox and your donkey can rest, and your slaves' families can catch their breath, as well as the foreigners living among you.

13 And ye shall be on your guard as to everything that I have said unto you; and shall make no mention of the name of other gods — it shall not be heard in thy mouth.

Make sure to pay attention to everything I've told you. Don't think to call on the names of other gods—you must not even mention them.

14 Thrice in the year thou shalt celebrate a feast to me.

Three times every year you are to celebrate a feast dedicated to me.

15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread, (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I have commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear in my presence empty; )

You are to observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread as I instructed you. You are to eat bread without yeast for seven days at the appropriate time in the month of Abib, because that was the month you left Egypt. No one can come before me without bringing an offering.

16 and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours which thou hast sown in the field, and the feast of in-gathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.

You are also to observe the Festival of Harvest when you present the firstfruits of the produce from what you've sown in the fields. Lastly you are to observe the Festival of Gathering-In the Harvest at the end of the year, when you gather in the harvest of the rest of your crops from the field.

17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear in the presence of the Lord Jehovah.

Every Israelite male is to come before the Lord God at these three times every year.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my feast remain all night until the morning.

You must not offer the blood of my sacrifices together with anything that contains yeast, and the fat from the offerings presented at my festival must not be left until morning.

19 The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

Bring the best firstfruits of your crops to the house of the Lord your God. Don't cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee to the place that I have prepared.

Look, I'm sending an angel ahead of you to protect you on the way and to take you to the place I've prepared for you.

21 Be careful in his presence, and hearken unto his voice: do not provoke him, for he will not forgive your transgressions; for my name is in him.

Make sure you pay attention to him and do what he says. Don't oppose him, because he won't forgive rebellion, for he carries my authority.

22 But if thou shalt diligently hearken unto his voice, and do all that I shall say, then I will be an enemy to thine enemies, and an adversary to thine adversaries.

However, if you listen to him carefully, and do everything that I tell you, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and I will fight those who fight against you.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.

For my angel will go ahead of you and take you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their deeds; but thou shalt utterly destroy them, and utterly shatter their statues.

You must not bow down to their gods or worship them or follow their pagan practices. No, you must demolish their idols and smash their sacred pillars into pieces.

25 And ye shall serve Jehovah your God; and he shall bless thy bread and thy water; and I will take sickness away from thy midst.

You are to worship the Lord your God, and he will bless your food and water. I will make sure none of you fall sick.

26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land; the number of thy days will I fulfil.

No woman will have a miscarriage or be without children. I will make sure you live long lives.

27 I will send my fear before thee, and confound every people to which thou comest, and will make all thine enemies turn their back to thee.

I will send terror about me ahead of you which will throw every nation you meet into panic. I will make all your enemies turn and run away.

28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

I will send hornets ahead of you to drive out before you the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites.

29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year: lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.

I will not drive them out in just one year, because the land would become desolate and you would have to deal with increased numbers of wild animals.

30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou art fruitful, and possess the land.

Bit by bit I will drive them out ahead of you, until there are enough of you to take possession of the land.

31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the river; for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, that thou mayest dispossess them from before thee.

I will fix your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will hand the inhabitants of the land over to you, and you will drive them out.

32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

You must not make any agreement with them or with their gods.

33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve their gods, it is sure to be a snare unto thee.

They must not be allowed to stay in your land, otherwise they will lead you to sin against me. For if you worship their gods, they will definitely become a trap for you.”