Exodus 22:16-23:19

New King James Version

Moral and Ceremonial Principles

^16 (A)“If a man entices a virgin who is not betrothed, and lies with her, he shall surely pay the bride-price for her to be his wife. ¹⁷ If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money according to the ^(B)bride-price of virgins.

^18 (C)“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.

^19 (D)“Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death.

^20 (E)“He who sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

^21 (F)“You shall neither mistreat a ^[a]stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

^22 (G)“You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child. ²³ If you afflict them in any way, and they ^(H)cry at all to Me, I will surely ^(I)hear their cry; ²⁴ and My ^(J)wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; ^(K)your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

^25 (L)“If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him ^(M)interest. ^26 (N)If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. ²⁷ For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am ^(O)gracious.

^28 (P)“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ^(Q)ruler of your people.

²⁹ “You shall not delay to offer ^(R)the first of your ripe produce and your juices. ^(S)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. ^30 (T)Likewise you shall do with your oxen and your sheep. It shall be with its mother ^(U)seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me.

³¹ “And you shall be ^(V)holy men to Me: ^(W)you shall not eat meat torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.

Justice for All

23 “You ^(X)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an ^(Y)unrighteous witness. ^2 (Z)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; ^(AA)nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. ³ You shall not show partiality to a ^(AB)poor man in his dispute.

^4 (AC)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. ^5 (AD)If 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.

^6 (AE)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. ^7 (AF)Keep yourself far from a false matter; ^(AG)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For ^(AH)I will not justify the wicked. ⁸ And ^(AI)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹ “Also ^(AJ)you shall not oppress a ^[b]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Law of Sabbaths

^10 (AK)“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, ¹¹ but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your ^[c]olive grove. ^12 (AL)Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.

¹³ “And in all that I have said to you, ^(AM)be circumspect and ^(AN)make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.

Three Annual Feasts^(AO)

^14 (AP)“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: ^15 (AQ)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; ^(AR)none shall appear before Me empty); ^16 (AS)and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and ^(AT)the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.

^17 (AU)“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord ^[d]God.

^18 (AV)“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened ^(AW)bread; nor shall the fat of My ^[e]sacrifice remain until morning. ^19 (AX)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. ^(AY)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.