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Exodus 23-24
New King James Version
Exodus 23-24
New King James Version
Justice for All
23 “You (A)shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an (B)unrighteous witness. 2 (C)You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; (D)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 (E)poor man in his dispute.
4 (F)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 (G)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 (H)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 (I)Keep yourself far from a false matter; (J)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For (K)I will not justify the wicked. 8 And (L)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.
9 “Also (M)you shall not oppress a [a]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The Law of Sabbaths
10 (N)“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 [b]olive grove. 12 (O)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, (P)be circumspect and (Q)make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.
Three Annual Feasts(R)
14 (S)“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: 15 (T)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; (U)none shall appear before Me empty); 16 (V)and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and (W)the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17 (X)“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord [c]God.
18 (Y)“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened (Z)bread; nor shall the fat of My [d]sacrifice remain until morning. 19 (AA)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. (AB)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
The Angel and the Promises
20 (AC)“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of Him and obey His voice; (AD)do not provoke Him, for He will (AE)not pardon your transgressions; for (AF)My name is in Him. 22 But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then (AG)I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23 (AH)For My Angel will go before you and (AI)bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will [e]cut them off. 24 You shall not (AJ)bow down to their gods, nor serve them, (AK)nor do according to their works; (AL)but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.
25 “So you shall (AM)serve the Lord your God, and (AN)He will bless your bread and your water. And (AO)I will take sickness away from the midst of you. 26 (AP)No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will (AQ)fulfill the number of your days.
27 “I will send (AR)My fear before you, I will (AS)cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And (AT)I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. 29 (AU)I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. 31 And (AV)I will set your [f]bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the [g]River. For I will (AW)deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. 32 (AX)You shall make no [h]covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, (AY)it will surely be a snare to you.”
Israel Affirms the Covenant
24 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron, (AZ)Nadab and Abihu, (BA)and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him.”
3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the [i]judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, (BB)“All the words which the Lord has said we will do.” 4 And Moses (BC)wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve (BD)pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered (BE)burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. 6 And Moses (BF)took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he (BG)took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is (BH)the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you according to all these words.”
On the Mountain with God
9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they (BI)saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of (BJ)sapphire stone, and it was like the (BK)very[j] heavens in its clarity. 11 But on the nobles of the children of Israel He (BL)did not [k]lay His hand. So (BM)they saw God, and they (BN)ate and drank.
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, (BO)“Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you (BP)tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”
13 So Moses arose with (BQ)his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and (BR)Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” 15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and (BS)a cloud covered the mountain.
16 Now (BT)the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the Lord was like (BU)a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And (BV)Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Footnotes
- Exodus 23:9 sojourner
- Exodus 23:11 olive yards
- Exodus 23:17 Heb. YHWH, usually translated Lord
- Exodus 23:18 feast
- Exodus 23:23 annihilate them
- Exodus 23:31 boundaries
- Exodus 23:31 Heb. Nahar, the Euphrates
- Exodus 23:32 treaty
- Exodus 24:3 ordinances
- Exodus 24:10 Lit. substance of heaven
- Exodus 24:11 stretch out His
Exodus 23-24
New International Version
Exodus 23-24
New International Version
Laws of Justice and Mercy
23 “Do not spread false reports.(A) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.(B)
2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice(C) by siding with the crowd,(D) 3 and do not show favoritism(E) to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s(F) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.(G) 5 If you see the donkey(H) of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
6 “Do not deny justice(I) to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge(J) and do not put an innocent(K) or honest person to death,(L) for I will not acquit the guilty.(M)
8 “Do not accept a bribe,(N) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9 “Do not oppress a foreigner;(O) you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Sabbath Laws
10 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.(P) Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Six days do your work,(Q) but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.(R)
13 “Be careful(S) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;(T) do not let them be heard on your lips.(U)
The Three Annual Festivals
14 “Three times(V) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;(W) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(X) for in that month you came out of Egypt.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(Y)
16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest(Z) with the firstfruits(AA) of the crops you sow in your field.
“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering(AB) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.(AC)
17 “Three times(AD) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.
18 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.(AE)
“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.(AF)
19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(AG) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(AH)
God’s Angel to Prepare the Way
20 “See, I am sending an angel(AI) ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.(AJ) 21 Pay attention to him and listen(AK) to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive(AL) your rebellion,(AM) since my Name(AN) is in him. 22 If you listen carefully to what he says and do(AO) all that I say, I will be an enemy(AP) to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,(AQ) and I will wipe them out. 24 Do not bow down before their gods or worship(AR) them or follow their practices.(AS) You must demolish(AT) them and break their sacred stones(AU) to pieces. 25 Worship the Lord your God,(AV) and his blessing(AW) will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness(AX) from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be barren(AY) in your land. I will give you a full life span.(AZ)
27 “I will send my terror(BA) ahead of you and throw into confusion(BB) every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.(BC) 28 I will send the hornet(BD) ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites(BE) out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals(BF) too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession(BG) of the land.
31 “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea[a] to the Mediterranean Sea,[b] and from the desert to the Euphrates River.(BH) I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out(BI) before you. 32 Do not make a covenant(BJ) with them or with their gods. 33 Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare(BK) to you.”
The Covenant Confirmed
24 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to the Lord, you and Aaron,(BL) Nadab and Abihu,(BM) and seventy of the elders(BN) of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, 2 but Moses alone is to approach(BO) the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”
3 When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws,(BP) they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.”(BQ) 4 Moses then wrote(BR) down everything the Lord had said.
He got up early the next morning and built an altar(BS) at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars(BT) representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings(BU) and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings(BV) to the Lord. 6 Moses(BW) took half of the blood(BX) and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed(BY) against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant(BZ) and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.”(CA)
8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people(CB) and said, “This is the blood of the covenant(CC) that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
9 Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders(CD) of Israel went up 10 and saw(CE) the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli,(CF) as bright blue as the sky.(CG) 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw(CH) God, and they ate and drank.(CI)
12 The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone(CJ) with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”
13 Then Moses set out with Joshua(CK) his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain(CL) of God. 14 He said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Aaron and Hur(CM) are with you, and anyone involved in a dispute(CN) can go to them.”
15 When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud(CO) covered it, 16 and the glory(CP) of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai.(CQ) For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.(CR) 17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire(CS) on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty(CT) days and forty nights.(CU)
Footnotes
- Exodus 23:31 Or the Sea of Reeds
- Exodus 23:31 Hebrew to the Sea of the Philistines
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.