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Exodus 22:16-23:19
New King James Version
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.
Footnotes
- Exodus 22:21 sojourner
- Exodus 23:9 sojourner
- Exodus 23:11 olive yards
- Exodus 23:17 Heb. YHWH, usually translated Lord
- Exodus 23:18 feast
Exodus 22:16-23:19
New International Version
Exodus 22:16-23:19
New International Version
Social Responsibility
16 “If a man seduces a virgin(A) who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price,(B) and she shall be his wife. 17 If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.
18 “Do not allow a sorceress(C) to live.
19 “Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal(D) is to be put to death.
20 “Whoever sacrifices to any god(E) other than the Lord must be destroyed.[a](F)
21 “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner,(G) for you were foreigners(H) in Egypt.
22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless.(I) 23 If you do and they cry out(J) to me, I will certainly hear their cry.(K) 24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.(L)
25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.(M) 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge,(N) return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in?(O) When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.(P)
28 “Do not blaspheme God[b](Q) or curse(R) the ruler of your people.(S)
29 “Do not hold back offerings(T) from your granaries or your vats.[c]
“You must give me the firstborn of your sons.(U) 30 Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.(V) Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.(W)
31 “You are to be my holy people.(X) So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts;(Y) throw it to the dogs.
Laws of Justice and Mercy
23 “Do not spread false reports.(Z) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.(AA)
2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice(AB) by siding with the crowd,(AC) 3 and do not show favoritism(AD) to a poor person in a lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s(AE) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.(AF) 5 If you see the donkey(AG) 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(AH) to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge(AI) and do not put an innocent(AJ) or honest person to death,(AK) for I will not acquit the guilty.(AL)
8 “Do not accept a bribe,(AM) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9 “Do not oppress a foreigner;(AN) 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.(AO) 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,(AP) 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.(AQ)
13 “Be careful(AR) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;(AS) do not let them be heard on your lips.(AT)
The Three Annual Festivals
14 “Three times(AU) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;(AV) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(AW) for in that month you came out of Egypt.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(AX)
16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest(AY) with the firstfruits(AZ) of the crops you sow in your field.
“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering(BA) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.(BB)
17 “Three times(BC) 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.(BD)
“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.(BE)
19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(BF) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(BG)
Footnotes
- Exodus 22:20 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
- Exodus 22:28 Or Do not revile the judges
- Exodus 22:29 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
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.