Exodus 23:6–9

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 23:7 Keep your distance16 from a false charge17—do not kill the innocent and the righteous,18 for I will not justify the wicked.19

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see20 and subverts the words of the righteous.

23:9 “You must not oppress21 a foreigner, since you know the life22 of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

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16	tn Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”
17	tn Heb “a false matter,” this expression in this context would have to be a case in law that was false or that could only be won by falsehood.
18	tn The two clauses probably should be related: the getting involved in the false charge could lead to the death of an innocent person (so, e.g., Naboth in 1 Kgs 21:10–13).
19	sn God will not declare right the one who is in the wrong. Society should also be consistent, but it cannot see the intents and motives, as God can.
20	tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”
21	tn The verb means “to crush.” S. R. Driver notes that in this context this would probably mean with an unfair judgment in the courts (Exodus, 239).
22	tn Heb “soul, life”—“you know what it feels like.”