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.

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

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto 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 works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

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

27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto 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 be increased, and inherit the land.

31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out 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 will surely be a snare unto thee.

24 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.

And Moses alone shall come near the Lord: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.

And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.

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

And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord.

And Moses took half of 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 in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.

And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.

Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.

11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

12 And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.

13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God.

14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.

15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.

16 And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

17 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

23 2 Not to follow the multitude. 13 Not to make mention of the strange gods. 14 The three solemn feasts. 20, 23 The Angel is promised to lead his people.  25 What God promiseth if they obey him. 29 God will cast out the Canaanites by little and little, and why.

Thou shalt not [a]receive a false tale, neither shalt thou put thine hand with the wicked, to be a [b]false witness.

¶ Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, neither [c]agree in a controversy [d]to decline after many and overthrow the truth.

¶ Thou shalt not esteem a poor man in his cause.

¶ If thou meet thine enemy’s ox, or his ass going astray, thou shalt [e]bring him to him again.

If thou see thine enemy’s [f]ass lying under his burden, wilt thou cease to help him? thou shalt help him up again with it.

Thou shalt not overthrow the right of the poor in his suit.

Thou shalt keep thee far from a false matter, thou shalt not slay the [g]innocent and the righteous: for I will not justify a wicked man.

(A)Thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the [h]wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

¶ Thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the [i]heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

10 (B)Moreover, six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather 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 do with thy vineyard, and with thine olive trees.

12 (C)Six days thou shalt do thy work, and in the seventh day thou shalt rest, that thine ox, and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy maid, and the stranger may be refreshed.

13 And ye shall take heed to all things that I have said unto you: and ye shall make [j]no mention of the name of other gods, neither shall it be heard out of thy mouth.

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

15 Thou (D)shalt keep the feast of [k]unleavened bread: thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the season of the month of Abib: for in it thou camest out of Egypt: and (E)none shall appear before me empty.

16 The [l]feast also of the harvest of the first fruits of thy labors, which thou hast sown in the field: and the [m]feast of gathering fruits in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labors out of the field.

17 These three times in the year shall all thy men children appear before the Lord Jehovah.

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

19 (F) The first of the firstfruits of thy land, thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God: yet shalt thou not seethe a kid in his [o]mother’s milk.

20 (G)Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in thy way, and to bring thee to the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of him, and hear his voice, and provoke him not: for he will not spare your misdeeds, because my [p]name is in him.

22 But if thou hearken unto his voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and will afflict them that afflict thee.

23 For mine Angel (H)shall go before thee, and bring thee unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will destroy them.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, neither serve them, nor do after the works of them: but (I)[q]utterly overthrow them, and break in pieces their images.

25 For ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy [r]bread and thy water, and I will take all sickness away from the midst of thee.

26 (J)There shall none cast their fruit, nor be barren in thy land, the number of thy days will I fulfill.

27 I will send my [s]fear before thee, and will destroy all the people among whom thou shalt go: and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee:

28 And I will send (K)hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from thy face.

29 I will not cast them out from thy face in one year, lest the land grow to a wilderness, and the beasts of the field multiply against thee.

30 By little and little I will drive them out from thy face, until thou increase, and inherit the land.

31 And I will make thy coasts from the red sea unto the sea [t]of the Philistines, and from the [u]desert unto the [v]River: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and thou shalt drive them out from thy face.

32 (L)Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods:

33 Neither shall they dwell in the land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, surely it shall be thy [w](M)destruction.

24 3 The people promise to obey God. 4 Moses writeth the civil Laws. 9, 13 Moses returneth into the mountain. 14 Aaron and Hur have the charge of the people.  18 Moses was forty days and forty nights in the mountain.

Now he had [x]said unto Moses, Come up to the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel, and ye shall worship afar off.

And Moses himself alone shall come near to the Lord, but they shall not come near, neither shall the people go up with him.

[y]Afterward Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the [z]Laws: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, (N)All the things which the Lord hath said, will we do.

And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord and rose up early, and set up an (O)altar [aa]under the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

And he sent young [ab]men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings of beeves, and sacrificed peace offerings unto the Lord.

Then Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

After, he took the [ac]book of the covenant, and read it in the audience of the people: who said, All that the Lord hath said, we will do, and be obedient.

Then Moses took the (P)blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the [ad]blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these things.

¶ Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel.

10 And they [ae]saw the God of Israel, and under his feet was as it were a [af]work of a Sapphire stone, and as the very heaven when it is clear.

11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he [ag]laid not his hand: also they saw God, and [ah]did eat and drink.

12 ¶ And the Lord [ai]said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be there, and I will give thee [aj]tables of stone, and the Law, and the Commandment, which I have written, for to teach [ak]them.

13 Then Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God,

14 And said unto the Elders, Tarry us here until we come again unto you: and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: whosoever hath any matters, let him come to them.

15 Then Moses went up to the mount, and the cloud covered the mountain,

16 And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered [al]it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

17 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like [am]consuming fire on the top of the mountain, in the eyes of the children of Israel.

18 And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up to the mountain and Moses was in the (Q)mount forty days and forty nights.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 23:1 Or, report a false tale.
  2. Exodus 23:1 Or, cruel.
  3. Exodus 23:2 Hebrew, answer.
  4. Exodus 23:2 Do that which is godly, though few do favor it.
  5. Exodus 23:4 If we be bound to do good to our enemy’s beast, much more to our enemy himself, Matt. 5:44.
  6. Exodus 23:5 If God command to help up our enemy’s ass under his burden, will he suffer us to cast down our brethren with heavy burdens?
  7. Exodus 23:7 Whether thou be magistrate or art commanded by the magistrate.
  8. Exodus 23:8 Hebrew, seeing.
  9. Exodus 23:9 For in that that he is a stranger, his heart is sorrowful enough.
  10. Exodus 23:13 Neither by swearing by them nor speaking of them, Ps. 16:4; Eph. 5:3.
  11. Exodus 23:15 That is, Easter, in remembrance that the Angel passed over and spared the Israelites, when he slew the firstborn of the Egyptians.
  12. Exodus 23:16 Which is Whitsuntide, in token that the Law was given 50 days after they departed from Egypt.
  13. Exodus 23:16 This is the feast of Tabernacles, signifying that they dwelled 40 years under the tents or the Tabernacles in wilderness.
  14. Exodus 23:18 No leavened bread shall be there in thine house.
  15. Exodus 23:19 Meaning, that no fruits should be taken before just time: and hereby are bridled all cruel and wanton appetites.
  16. Exodus 23:21 I will give him mine authority, and he shall govern you in my name.
  17. Exodus 23:24 God commandeth his not only not to worship idols, but to destroy them.
  18. Exodus 23:25 That is, all things necessary for this present life.
  19. Exodus 23:27 I will make them afraid at thy coming and send mine Angel to destroy them, as Exod. 35:2.
  20. Exodus 23:31 Called the Sea of Syria.
  21. Exodus 23:31 Of Arabia called desert.
  22. Exodus 23:31 To wit, Ephraim.
  23. Exodus 23:33 Hebrew, offense or snare.
  24. Exodus 24:1 When he called him up to the mountain to give him the Laws, beginning at Exod. 20, hitherto.
  25. Exodus 24:3 When he had received these laws in mount Sinai.
  26. Exodus 24:3 Hebrew, judgments.
  27. Exodus 24:4 Or, at the foot of the mountain.
  28. Exodus 24:5 For as yet the Priesthood was not given to Levi.
  29. Exodus 24:7 Or, the book of the Law.
  30. Exodus 24:8 Which blood signifieth that the covenant broken cannot be satisfied without blood shedding.
  31. Exodus 24:10 As perfectly as their infirmities could behold his majesty.
  32. Exodus 24:10 Hebrew, brick work.
  33. Exodus 24:11 He made them not afraid, nor punished them.
  34. Exodus 24:11 That is, rejoiced.
  35. Exodus 24:12 The second time.
  36. Exodus 24:12 Signifying the hardness of our hearts, except God do write his laws therein by his Spirit, Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 11:19; 2 Cor. 3:3; Heb. 8:10 and 10:16.
  37. Exodus 24:12 To wit, the people.
  38. Exodus 24:16 Or, him.
  39. Exodus 24:17 The Lord appeareth like devouring fire to carnal men: but to them that he draweth with his Spirit, he is like pleasant Sapphire.