Exodus 23

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

Thou shalt not utter a false report. Do not lay thy hand with a lawless man, to become a witness helping forward violence and wrong.

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

Thou shalt not follow multitudes to commit wickedness, —neither shalt thou answer in a quarrel, so as to turn away after multitudes to mislead,

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

Even a poor man, shalt thou not prefer in his quarrel.

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

When thou meetest the ox of thine enemy, or his ass, going astray, thou shalt, surely bring it back, to him.

5 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.

When thou seest the ass of him that hateth thee sinking down under his burden, and mightest have foreborne to unload him, thou shalt surely help him to unload,

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

Thou shalt not pervert the vindication of thy needy one in his quarrel.

7 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.

From a matter of falsehood, thou shalt keep far away, —and the innocent one and the righteous, do not thou slay, for I will not justify a lawless man.

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

And, a bribe, shalt thou not take, —for the bribe, blindeth the clear-sighted, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

9 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.

And a sojourner, shalt thou not drive away, —seeing that, ye yourselves, know the, soul of a sojourner; for sojourners, became ye in the land of Egypt.

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

And six years, shalt thou sow thy land, —and shalt gather the yield thereof;

11 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.

but the seventh year, shalt thou let it rest and be still so shall the needy of thy people eat, and what they leave, shall the wild-beast of the field eat, —in like manner, shalt thou deal with thy vineyard with thine oliveyard.

12 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.

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

13 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.

And, in all that I have said unto thee, shalt thou take heed to thyself, —and the name of other gods, shalt thou not mention, it shall not be heard upon thy mouth.

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

Three times, shalt thou keep festival to me, in the year.

15 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.

The festival of unleavened cakes, shalt thou keep, —seven days, shalt thou eat unleavened cakes, as I commanded thee at the appointed time of the month Abib; for, therein, camest thou forth out of Egypt, —and they shall not see my face, empty-handed.

16 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.

And the festival of harvest with the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou shalt sow in the field, And the festival of ingathering—at the outgoing of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

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

Three times in the year, shall all thy males see the face of the Lord, Yahweh.

18 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.

Thou shalt not offer with anything leavened, the blood of my sacrifice, —neither shall the fat of my festival-sacrifice remain until morning.

19 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.

The beginning of the firstfruits of thy ground, shalt thou bring into the house of Yahweh thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of its dam.

20 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.

Lo! I, am sending a messenger before thee, to guard thee in the way, —and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

21 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.

Take thou heed of his presence, and hearken to his voice—do not vex him, -for he will not pardon your transgression, for, my name, is within him.

22 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.

But if thou wilt indeed hearken, to his voice, and so wilt do all that I may speak, then will I be an enemy to thine enemies, and an adversary to thine adversaries;

23 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.

for my messenger shall go before thee, and bring thee in—unto the Amorite and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, —so will I destroy them.

24 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.

Thou shalt not bow thyself down to their gods neither shalt thou be led to serve them, neither shalt thou do according to their works, —but thou shalt, verily overthrow, them, and, completely break in pieces, their pillars.

25 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.

So shall ye serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless thy bread and thy water, —and I will take away sickness out of thy midst.

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

There shall be nothing casting its young or barren in thy land, —the number of thy days, will I make full.

27 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.

My terror, will I send before thee, and will confound all the people amongst whom thou shalt come, and will deliver up all thine enemies unto thee as they flee.

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

And I will send the hornet, before thee, —and it shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

29 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.

I will not drive them out from before thee, in one year, —lest the land should become a desolation, so would the wild-beast of the field multiply over thee.

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

Little by little, will I drive them out from before thee. until thou become fruitful, then shalt thou take possession of the land.

31 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.

So will I set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines and from the desert unto the River (Euphrates), —for I will deliver into your hand the inhabitants of the land, so shalt thou drive them out from before thee.

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

Thou shalt not make with them or with their gods, a covenant:

33 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.”

they shall not dwell in thy land, lest they cause thee to sin against me, —for thou mightest serve their gods, verily! it would become to thee a snare!