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Exodus 23:1–9

Justice for All

23 “You ashall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an bunrighteous witness. cYou shall not follow a crowd to do evil; dnor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. You shall not show partiality to a epoor man in his dispute.

f“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. gIf you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.

h“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. iKeep yourself far from a false matter; jdo not kill the innocent and righteous. For kI will not justify the wicked. And lyou shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

“Also myou shall not oppress a 1stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

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Exodus 23:1–9 — The New International Version (NIV)

“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.

Exodus 23:1–9 — English Standard Version (ESV)

“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.

Exodus 23:1–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

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.

Exodus 23:1–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)

“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.

Exodus 23:1–9 — New Century Version (NCV)

“You must not tell lies. If you are a witness in court, don’t help a wicked person by telling lies.

“You must not do wrong just because everyone else is doing it. If you are a witness in court, you must not ruin a fair trial. You must not tell lies just because everyone else is. If a poor person is in court, you must not take his side just because he is poor.

“If you see your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering away, you must return it to him. If you see that your enemy’s donkey has fallen because its load is too heavy, do not leave it there. You must help your enemy get the donkey back on its feet.

“You must not be unfair to a poor person when he is in court. You must not lie when you accuse someone in court. Never allow an innocent or honest person to be put to death as punishment, because I will not treat guilty people as if they were innocent.

“You must not accept money from a person who wants you to lie in court, because such money will not let you see what is right. Such money makes good people tell lies.

“You must not mistreat a foreigner. You know how it feels to be a foreigner, because you were foreigners in Egypt.

Exodus 23:1–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Thou shalt not take up a false report: put not thy 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 turn aside after a multitude to wrest justice: neither shalt thou favor 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, thou shalt forbear to leave him, thou shalt surely release it with him.

Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to 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 bribe: for a bribe blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the righteous. And a sojourner shalt thou not oppress: for ye know the heart of a sojourner, seeing ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:1–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

Thou shalt not accept a false report; extend not thy hand to the wicked, to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow the multitude for evil; neither shalt thou answer in a cause, to go after the multitude to pervert judgment. Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause. —If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt certainly bring it back to him. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, beware of leaving it to him: thou shalt certainly loosen it with him. Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of thy poor in his cause. Thou shalt keep far from the cause of falsehood; and the innocent and righteous slay not; for I will not justify the wicked. And thou shalt take no bribe; for the bribe blindeth those whose eyes are open, and perverteth the words of the righteous. And the stranger thou shalt not oppress; for ye know the spirit of the stranger, for ye have been strangers in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:1–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

⸤The Lord continued,⸥ “Never spread false rumors. Don’t join forces with wicked people by giving false testimony. Never follow a crowd in doing wrong. When you testify in court, don’t side with the majority to pervert justice. Never give special favors to poor people in court. 

“Whenever you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering loose, be sure to take it back to him. Whenever you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, don’t leave it there. Be sure to help him with his animal. 

“Never deny justice to poor people in court. Avoid telling lies. Don’t kill innocent or honest people, because I will never declare guilty people innocent. Never take a bribe, because bribes blind those who can see and deny justice to those who are in the right. 

“Never oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be foreigners because you were foreigners living in Egypt. 

Exodus 23:1–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

“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 foreign resident; you yourselves know how it feels to be a foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:1–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with the wicked to act as a malicious witness. You shall not follow a majority in wrongdoing; when you bear witness in a lawsuit, you shall not side with the majority so as to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to the poor in a lawsuit.

When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you shall bring it back.

When you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden and you would hold back from setting it free, you must help to set it free.

You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in their lawsuits. Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and those in the right, for I will not acquit the guilty. You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials, and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

Exodus 23:1–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

“ ‘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.

Exodus 23:1–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

“Do not spread reports that are false. Do not help an evil person by telling lies in court.

“Do not follow the crowd when they do what is wrong. When you are a witness in court, do not turn what is right into wrong. Do not go along with the crowd. Do not show favor to a poor person in court.

“Suppose you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering away. Then be sure to take it back to him.

“Suppose you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has fallen down under its load. Then do not leave it there. Be sure you help him with it.

“Be fair to your poor people in their court cases. Do not have anything to do with a charge that is false. Do not put to death those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. I will not let those who are guilty go free.

“Do not take money from people who want special favors. It makes you blind to the truth. It twists the words of godly people.

“Do not beat an outsider down. You yourselves know how it feels to be outsiders. Remember, you were outsiders in Egypt.

Exodus 23:1–9 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

“You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.

“You shall not follow the masses in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice;

nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute.

If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you shall surely return it to him.

If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.

“You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute.

Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.

“You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.

“You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.


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