^23:2“You must not follow a crowd⁷ in doing evil things;⁸ in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice,⁹^23:3and you must not show partiality¹⁰ to a poor man in his lawsuit.

^23:4“If you encounter¹¹ your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return¹² it to him. ^23:5If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him,¹³ but be sure to help¹⁴ him with it.¹⁵

^23:6“You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. ^23:7Keep 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.

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1 People who claim to worship and serve the righteous judge of the universe must preserve equity and justice in their dealings with others. These verses teach that God’s people must be honest witnesses (1–3); God’s people must be righteous even with enemies (4–5); and God’s people must be fair in dispensing justice (6–9).
2 Heb “take up, lift, carry” (נָשָׂא, nasa’). This verb was also used in the prohibition against taking “the name of Yahweh in vain.” Sometimes the object of this verb is physical, as in Jonah 1:12 and 15. Used in this prohibition involving speech, it covers both originating and repeating a lie.
3 Or “a groundless report” (see Exod 20:7 for the word שָׁוְא, shav’).
4 Heb “do not put your hand” (cf. , ); “join your hand.”
5 The word “wicked” (רָשָׁע, rasha’) refers to the guilty criminal, the person who is doing something wrong. In the religious setting it describes the person who is not a member of the covenant and may be involved in all kinds of sin, even though there is the appearance of moral and spiritual stability.
6 The word חָמָס (khamas) often means “violence” in the sense of social injustices done to other people, usually the poor and needy. A “malicious” witness would do great harm to others. See J. W. McKay, “Exodus 23:1–43, 6–8: A Decalogue for Administration of Justice in the City Gate,” 21 (1971): 311–25.
7 The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).
8 For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.
9 Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”
10 The point here is one of false sympathy and honor, the bad sense of the word הָדַר (hadar; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, ).
11 Heb “meet” (so , , ).
12 The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.
13 The line reads “you will cease to forsake him”—refrain from leaving your enemy without help.
14 The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (’azav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, ).
15 See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4–5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271–78.
16 Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”
17 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 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 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 Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”
21 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, ).
22 Heb “soul, life”—“you know what it feels like.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness. You shall not fall in with the many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many, so as to pervert justice, nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.

“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked. And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.

“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.

“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.

“Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

“Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

“Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

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

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

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

“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.

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

NLTNew Living Translation

“You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.

“You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.

“If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.

“In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.

“Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.

“Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.

“You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“ ‘You will not spread a false report. Do not lift your hand with the wicked to be a malicious witness. You will not follow a majority for evil, and you will not testify concerning a legal dispute to turn aside after a majority to pervert justice. You will not be partial to a powerless person in his legal dispute.

“ ‘If you come upon the ox of your enemy or his donkey going astray, you will certainly bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of your enemy lying down under its burden, you will refrain from abandoning him. You will surely arrange it with him.

“ ‘You will not pervert the justice of your poor in his legal dispute. You will stay far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and the righteous, because I will not declare the wicked righteous. And you will not take a bribe, because the bribe makes the sighted blind and ruins the words of the righteous. And you will not oppress an alien; you yourselves know the feelings of the alien, because you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

KJV 1900King James Version

Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Public Domain