Exodus 23

1 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.

You shall not receive a vain report: you shall not agree with the unjust [man] to become an unjust witness.

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

You shall not associate with the multitude for evil; you shall not join yourself with a multitude to turn aside with the majority so as to shut out judgment.

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

And you shall not spare a poor man in judgment.

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

And if you meet your enemy's ox or his ass going astray, you shall turn them back and restore them to him.

5 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,

And if you see your enemy's ass fallen under its burden, you shall not pass by it, but shall help to raise it with him.

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

You shall not wrest the sentence of the poor in his judgment.

7 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.

You shall abstain from every unjust thing: you shall not kill the innocent and just, and you shall not justify the wicked for gifts.

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

And you shall not receive gifts; for gifts blind the eyes of the seeing, and corrupt just words.

9 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.

And you shall not afflict a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger; for you were yourselves strangers in the land of Egypt.

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

Six years you shall sow your land, and gather in the fruits of it.

11 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.

But in the seventh year you shall let it rest, and leave it, and the poor of your nation shall feed; and the wild beasts of the field shall eat that which remains: thus shall you do to your vineyard and to your oliveyard.

12 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.

Six days shall you do your works, and on the seventh day there shall be rest, that your ox and your ass may rest, and that the son of your maidservant and the stranger may be refreshed.

13 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.

Observe all things whatever I have commanded you; and you shall make no mention of the name of other gods, neither shall they be heard out of your mouth.

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

Keep you a feast to me three times in the year.

15 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.

Take heed to keep the feast of unleavened bread: seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I charged you at the season of the month of new [corn], for in it you came out of Egypt: you shall not appear before me empty.

16 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.

And you shall keep the feast of the harvest of first fruits of your labors, whatever you shall have sown in your field, and the feast of completion at the end of the year in the gathering in of your fruits out of your field.

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

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

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

For when I shall have cast out the nations from before you, and shall have widened your borders, you shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven, neither must the fat of my feast abide till the morning.

19 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.

You shall bring the first-offerings of the first fruits of your land into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not seethe a lamb in its mother's milk.

20 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.

And, behold, I send my angel before your face, that he may keep you in the way, that he may bring you into the land which I have prepared for you.

21 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.

Take heed to yourself and listen to him, and disobey him not; for he will not give way to you, for my name is on him.

22 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;

If you will indeed hear my voice, and if you will do all the things I shall charge you with, and keep my covenant, you shall be to me a peculiar people above all nations, for the whole earth is mine; and you shall be to me a royal priesthood, and a holy nation: these words shall you speak to the children of Israel, If you shall indeed hear my voice, and do all the things I shall tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries.

23 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.

For my angel shall go as your leader, and shall bring you to the Amorite, and Chettite, and Pherezite, and Chananite, and Gergesite, and Evite, and Jebusite, and I will destroy them.

24 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.

You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them: you shall not do according to their works, but shall utterly destroy them, and break to pieces their pillars.

25 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.

And you shall serve the Lord your God, and I will bless your bread and your wine and your water, and I will turn away sickness from you.

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

There shall not be on your land one that is impotent or barren. I will surely fulfil the number of your days.

27 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.

And I will send terror before you, and I will strike with amazement all the nations to which you shall come, and I will make all your enemies to flee.

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

And I will send hornets before you, and you shall cast out the Amorites and the Evites, and the Chananites and the Chettites from you.

29 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.

I will not cast them out in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beasts of the field multiply against you.

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

By little [and little] I will cast them out from before you, until you shall be increased and inherit the earth.

31 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.

And I will set your borders from the Red Sea, to the sea of the Phylistines, and from the wilderness to the great river Euphrates; and I will give into your hand those that dwell in the land, and will cast them out from you.

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

You shall make no covenant with them and their gods.

33 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!

And they shall not dwell in your land, lest they cause you to sin against me; for if you should serve their gods, these will be an offense to you.