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23 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.

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in its produce;

11 but in the seventh thou shalt let it rest and lie [fallow], that the poor of thy people may eat [of it]; and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thine olive-tree.

12 —Six days thou shalt do thy work, but 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 ye shall be on your guard as to everything that I have said unto you; and shall make no mention of the name of other gods—it shall not be heard in thy mouth.

14 Thrice in the year thou shalt celebrate a feast to me.

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

16 and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours which thou hast sown in the field, and the feast of in-gathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.

17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear in the presence of the Lord Jehovah.

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

19 The first of the first-fruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of Jehovah thy God. Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee to the place that I have prepared.

21 Be careful in his presence, and hearken unto his voice: do not provoke him, for he will not forgive your transgressions; for my name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt diligently hearken unto his voice, and do all that I shall say, then I will be an enemy to thine enemies, and an adversary to thine adversaries.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their deeds; but thou shalt utterly destroy them, and utterly shatter their statues.

25 And ye shall serve Jehovah your God; and he shall bless thy bread and thy water; and I will take sickness away from thy midst.

26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land; the number of thy days will I fulfil.

27 I will send my fear before thee, and confound every people to which thou comest, and will make all thine enemies turn their back to thee.

28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year: lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.

30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou art fruitful, and possess the land.

31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness unto the river; for I will give the inhabitants of the land into your hand, that thou mayest dispossess them from before thee.

32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve their gods, it is sure to be a snare unto thee.

24 And he said to Moses, Go up to Jehovah, thou and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship afar off.

And let Moses alone come near Jehovah; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.

And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the judgments; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words that Jehovah has said will we do!

And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the mountain, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

And he sent the youths of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offering of bullocks to Jehovah.

And Moses took half the blood, and put [it] in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

And he took the book of the covenant, and read [it] in the ears of the people; and they said, All that Jehovah has said will we do, and obey!

And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled [it] on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant that Jehovah has made with you concerning all these words.

And Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up;

10 and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were work of transparent sapphire, and as it were the form of heaven for clearness.

11 And on the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: they saw God, and ate and drank.

12 And Jehovah said to Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law, and the commandment that I have written, for their instruction.

13 And Moses rose up, and Joshua his attendant; and Moses went up to the mountain of God.

14 And he said to the elders, Wait here for us, until we return to you; and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matter, let him come before them.

15 And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.

16 And the glory of Jehovah abode 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 And the appearance of the glory of Jehovah was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain, before the eyes of the children of Israel.

18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and ascended the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Laws of Justice and Mercy

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

“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) and do not show favoritism(E) to a poor person in a lawsuit.

“If you come across your enemy’s(F) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.(G) 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.

“Do not deny justice(I) to your poor people in their lawsuits. 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)

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

“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, but Moses alone is to approach(BO) the Lord; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him.”

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) 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. Then he sent young Israelite men, and they offered burnt offerings(BU) and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings(BV) to the Lord. Moses(BW) took half of the blood(BX) and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed(BY) against the altar. 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)

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.”

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

  1. Exodus 23:31 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Exodus 23:31 Hebrew to the Sea of the Philistines