24 and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and (A)your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.

25 (B)“If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 (C)If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he (D)cries to me, I will hear, for I am (E)compassionate.

28 (F)“You shall not revile God, nor (G)curse a ruler of your people.

29 “You shall not delay to offer from the fullness of your harvest and from the outflow of your presses. (H)The firstborn of your sons you shall give to me. 30 (I)You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep: (J)seven days it shall be with its mother; on the eighth day you shall give it to me.

31 (K)“You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore (L)you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; (M)you shall throw it to the dogs.

23 (N)“You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a (O)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, (P)nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his lawsuit.

(Q)“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.

(R)“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. (S)Keep far from a false charge, and (T)do not kill the innocent and righteous, for (U)I will not acquit the wicked. (V)And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.

(W)“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.

Laws About the Sabbath and Festivals

10 (X)“For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 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. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.

12 (Y)“Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.

13 (Z)“Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.

14 (AA)“Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 15 (AB)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of (AC)Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. (AD)None shall appear before me empty-handed. 16 You shall keep (AE)the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the (AF)Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. 17 (AG)Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God.

18 (AH)“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning.

19 “The best of the (AI)firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.

(AJ)“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

24 My anger will be aroused, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will become widows and your children fatherless.(A)

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.(B) 26 If you take your neighbor’s cloak as a pledge,(C) return it by sunset, 27 because that cloak is the only covering your neighbor has. What else can they sleep in?(D) When they cry out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.(E)

28 “Do not blaspheme God[a](F) or curse(G) the ruler of your people.(H)

29 “Do not hold back offerings(I) from your granaries or your vats.[b]

“You must give me the firstborn of your sons.(J) 30 Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.(K) Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.(L)

31 “You are to be my holy people.(M) So do not eat the meat of an animal torn by wild beasts;(N) throw it to the dogs.

Laws of Justice and Mercy

23 “Do not spread false reports.(O) Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.(P)

“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice(Q) by siding with the crowd,(R) and do not show favoritism(S) to a poor person in a lawsuit.

“If you come across your enemy’s(T) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.(U) If you see the donkey(V) 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(W) to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge(X) and do not put an innocent(Y) or honest person to death,(Z) for I will not acquit the guilty.(AA)

“Do not accept a bribe,(AB) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

“Do not oppress a foreigner;(AC) 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.(AD) 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,(AE) 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.(AF)

13 “Be careful(AG) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;(AH) do not let them be heard on your lips.(AI)

The Three Annual Festivals

14 “Three times(AJ) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;(AK) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(AL) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(AM)

16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest(AN) with the firstfruits(AO) of the crops you sow in your field.

“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering(AP) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.(AQ)

17 “Three times(AR) 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.(AS)

“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.(AT)

19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(AU) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(AV)

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 22:28 Or Do not revile the judges
  2. Exodus 22:29 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.

24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury.

26 If thou at all take thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down:

27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious.

28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people.

29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.

30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me.

31 And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

23 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.

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:

11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)

16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.