Exodus 23

1Thou shalt not receive the voice of a lie: neither shalt thou join thy hand to bear false witness for a wicked person.

2Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil: neither shalt thou yield in judgment, to the opinion of the most part, to stray from the truth.

3Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in judgment.

4If thou meet thy enemy’s ox or ass going astray, bring it back to him.

5If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lie underneath his burden, thou shalt not pass by, but shalt lift him up with him.

6Thou shalt not go aside in the poor man’s judgment.

7Thou shalt fly lying. The innocent and just person thou shalt not put to death: because I abhor the wicked.

8Neither shalt thou take bribes, which even blind the wise, and pervert the words of the just.

9Thou shalt not molest a stranger, for you know the hearts of strangers: for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.

10Six years thou shalt sow thy ground, and shalt gather the corn thereof.

11But the seventh year thou shalt let it alone, and suffer it to rest, that the poor of thy people may eat, and whatsoever shall be left, let the beasts of the field eat it: so shalt thou do with thy vineyard and thy oliveyard.

12Six days thou shalt work: the seventh day thou shalt cease, that thy ox and thy ass may rest: and the son of thy handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed.

13Keep all things that I have said to you. And by the name of strange gods you shall not swear, neither shall it be heard out of your mouth.

14Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me.

15Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month of new corn, when thou didst come forth out of Egypt: thou shalt not appear empty before me.

16And the feast of the harvest of the firstfruits of thy work, whatsoever thou hast sown in the field. The feast also in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in all thy corn out of the field.

17Thrice a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God.

18Thou shalt not sacrifice the blood of my victim upon leaven, neither shall the fat of my solemnity remain until the morning.

19Thou shalt carry the firstfruits of the corn of thy ground to the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in the milk of his dam.

20Behold I will send my angel, who shall go before thee, and keep thee in thy journey, and bring thee into the place that I have prepared.

21Take notice of him, and hear his voice, and do not think him one to be contemned: for he will not forgive when thou hast sinned, and my name is in him.

22But if thou wilt hear his voice, and do all that I speak, I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee.

23And my angel shall go before thee, and shall bring thee in unto the Amorrhite, and the Hethite, and the Pherezite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, whom I will destroy.

24Thou shalt not adore their gods, nor serve them. Thou shalt not do their works, but shalt destroy them, and break their statues.

25And you shall serve the Lord your God, that I may bless your bread and your waters, and may take away sickness from the midst of thee.

26There shall not be one fruitless nor barren in thy land: I will fill the number of thy days.

27I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come: and will turn the backs of all thy enemies before thee.

28Sending out hornets before, that shall drive away the Hevite, and the Chanaanite, and the Hethite, before thou come in.

29I will not cast them out from thy face in one year: lest the land be brought into a wilderness, and the beasts multiply against thee.

30By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, till thou be increased, and dost possess the land.

31And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea to the sea of the Palestines, and from the desert to the river: I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hands, and will drive them out from before you.

32Thou shalt not enter into league with them, nor with their gods.

33Let them not dwell in thy land, lest perhaps thy make thee sin against me, if thou serve their god: which undoubtedly will be a scandal to thee.

1Non suscipies vocem mendacii, nec junges manum tuam ut pro impio dicas falsum testimonium.

2Non sequeris turbam ad faciendum malum: nec in judicio, plurimorum acquiesces sententiæ, ut a vero devies.

3Pauperis quoque non misereberis in judicio.

4Si occurreris bovi inimici tui, aut asino erranti, reduc ad eum.

5Si videris asinum odientis te jacere sub onere, non pertransibis, sed sublevabis cum eo.

6Non declinabis in judicium pauperis.

7Mendacium fugies. Insontem et justum non occides: quia aversor impium.

8Nec accipies munera, quæ etiam excæcant prudentes, et subvertunt verba justorum.

9Peregrino molestus non eris. Scitis enim advenarum animas: quia et ipsi peregrini fuistis in terra Ægypti.

10Sex annis seminabis terram tuam, et congregabis fruges ejus:

11anno autem septimo dimittes eam, et requiescere facies, ut comedant pauperes populi tui: et quidquid reliquum fuerit, edant bestiæ agri: ita facies in vinea et in oliveto tuo.

12Sex diebus operaberis: septimo die cessabis, ut requiescat bos et asinus tuus, et refrigeretur filius ancillæ tuæ, et advena.

13Omnia quæ dixi vobis, custodite. Et per nomen externorum deorum non jurabitis, neque audietur ex ore vestro.

14Tribus vicibus per singulos annos mihi festa celebrabitis.

15Solemnitatem azymorum custodies. Septem diebus comedes azyma, sicut præcepi tibi, tempore mensis novorum, quando egressus es de Ægypto: non apparebis in conspectu meo vacuus.

16Et solemnitatem messis primitivorum operis tui, quæcumque seminaveris in agro: solemnitatem quoque in exitu anni, quando congregaveris omnes fruges tuas de agro.

17Ter in anno apparebit omne masculinum tuum coram Domino Deo tuo.

18Non immolabis super fermento sanguinem victimæ meæ, nec remanebit adeps solemnitatis meæ usque mane.

19Primitias frugum terræ tuæ deferes in domum Domini Dei tui. Non coques hædum in lacte matris suæ.

20Ecce ego mittam angelum meum, qui præcedat te, et custodiat in via, et introducat in locum quem paravi.

21Observa eum, et audi vocem ejus, nec contemnendum putes: quia non dimittet cum peccaveris, et est nomen meum in illo.

22Quod si audieris vocem ejus, et feceris omnia quæ loquor, inimicus ero inimicis tuis, et affligam affligentes te.

23Præcedetque te angelus meus, et introducet te ad Amorrhæum, et Hethæum, et Pherezæum, Chananæumque, et Hevæum, et Jebusæum, quos ego conteram.

24Non adorabis deos eorum, nec coles eos: non facies opera eorum, sed destrues eos, et confringes statuas eorum.

25Servietisque Domino Deo vestro, ut benedicam panibus tuis et aquis, et auferam infirmitatem de medio tui.

26Non erit infœcunda, nec sterilis in terra tua: numerum dierum tuorum implebo.

27Terrorem meum mittam in præcursum tuum, et occidam omnem populum, ad quem ingredieris: cunctorumque inimicorum tuorum coram te terga vertam:

28emittens crabrones prius, qui fugabunt Hevæum, et Chananæum, et Hethæum, antequam introëas.

29Non ejiciam eos a facie tua anno uno: ne terra in solitudinem redigatur, et crescant contra te bestiæ.

30Paulatim expellam eos de conspectu tuo, donec augearis, et possideas terram.

31Ponam autem terminos tuos a mari Rubro usque ad mare Palæstinorum, et a deserto usque ad fluvium: tradam in manibus vestris habitatores terræ, et ejiciam eos de conspectu vestro.

32Non inibis cum eis fœdus, nec cum diis eorum.

33Non habitent in terra tua, ne forte peccare te faciant in me, si servieris diis eorum: quod tibi certe erit in scandalum.

1“You shall not accept a lying voice. Neither shall you join your hand so as to give false testimony on behalf of the impious.

2You shall not follow the crowd in doing evil. Neither shall you go astray in judgment, by agreeing with the majority opinion, apart from the truth.

3Likewise, you shall not show pity in judgment of the poor.

4If you come across an ox or a donkey of your enemy, which has gone astray, lead it back to him.

5If you see the donkey of one who hates you, fallen under its burden, you shall not pass by without lifting it up with him.

6You shall not deviate in judgment of the poor.

7You shall flee from lies. The innocent and the just you shall not kill. For I shun the impious.

8Neither shall you accept bribes, which blind even the prudent and subvert the words of the just.

9You shall not harass a sojourner, for you know the life of a newcomer. For you yourselves also were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

10For six years, you shall sow your land and gather its produce.

11But in the seventh year, you shall release it and cause it to rest, so that the poor of your people may eat. And whatever remains, let the beasts of the field eat it. So shall you do with your vineyard and your olive grove.

12For six days, you shall work. On the seventh day, you shall cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the newcomer and the son of your handmaid may be refreshed.

13Preserve all that I have said to you. And by the names of foreign gods you shall not swear; neither shall these be heard from your mouth.

14Three times in each year, you shall celebrate feasts to me.

15You shall keep the solemnity of unleavened bread. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, just as I instructed you, at the time of the month of new grain, when you departed from Egypt. You shall not appear empty-handed in my sight,

16for it is the solemnity of the harvest of the first-fruits of your work, of whatever you have sown in the field. Likewise, it is a solemnity at the end of the season, when you will have gathered in all your crops from the field.

17Three times a year, all your males shall appear before the Lord your God.

18You shall not immolate the blood of my victim over leaven, nor shall the fat of my solemnity remain until morning.

19You shall carry the first grain of the land to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not cook a young goat in the milk of its mother.

20Behold, I will send my Angel, who will go before you, and preserve you on your journey, and lead you into the place that I have prepared.

21Heed him, and hear his voice, and do not hold him in disregard. For he will not release you when you have sinned, and my name is in him.

22But if you listen to his voice and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will afflict those who afflict you.

23And my Angel will go before you, and he will bring you to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Canaanite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, whom I will crush.

24You shall not adore their gods, nor worship them. You shall not do their works, but you shall destroy them and break apart their statues.

25And you shall serve the Lord your God, so that I may bless your bread and your waters, and so that I may take away sickness from your midst.

26There will not be fruitless or barren ones in your land. I will fill up the number of your days.

27I will send my terror to run ahead of you, and I will kill all the people to whom you will enter. And I will turn the backs of all your enemies before you,

28sending wasps ahead, so that they will put to flight the Hivite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, before you enter.

29I will not cast them out from your face in one year, lest the land be reduced to a wilderness and the wild beasts increase against you.

30I will expel them little by little from your sight, until you have expanded and may possess the land.

31Then I will set your limits to be from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Palestinians, and from the desert all the way to the river. I will deliver into your hands the inhabitants of the land, and I will cast them out from your sight.

32You shall not enter into a pact with them, nor with their gods.

33They may not live on your land, lest perhaps they may cause you to sin against me, if you serve their gods, which certainly would be a temptation for you.”