^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.

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Footnotes

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 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 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 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

“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 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 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