Exodus 23:1–13

LAWS ABOUT HONESTY AND JUSTICE

23“You must not spread a false report. Do not join^D the wicked to be a malicious witness.^c

²“You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.^{d 3}Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.

⁴“If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.

⁵“If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.^Ae

⁶“You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. ⁷Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.^{f 8}You must not take a bribe,^g for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words^B of the righteous. ⁹You must not oppress a resident alien;^h you yourselves know how it feels to be a resident alien because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.

SABBATHS AND FESTIVALS

¹⁰“Sow your land for six years and gather its produce.^{i 11}But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat from it and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

¹²“Do your work^j for six days but rest on the seventh day so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave as well as the resident alien may be refreshed.

¹³“Pay strict attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.^Ck