Exodus 23

Laws About Justice and Fairness

1 ‘Do not spread false rumors. Do not lie on people or be a shady witness in court.’

2 ‘Do not follow the crowd when they are doing wrong. And do not twist justice just because everybody else is doing it.’

3 ‘Do not play favorites in court, even if the person is poor.’

4 ‘If you see your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, do not ignore it, bring it back to them.’

5 ‘If your enemy’s donkey falls under its load, do not walk past like you do not see it, help them out.’

6 ‘Do not deny justice to the poor just because they do not have money.’

7 ‘Stay away from false accusations. Do not kill innocent people, because I am not letting the guilty slide.’

8 ‘Do not take bribes, because bribes make smart people blind and twist the truth.’

9 ‘Do not oppress foreigners. You all know how it feels to be outsiders, because you were foreigners in Egypt.’

Laws About the Sabbath and Rest

10 ‘For six years, plant and harvest your fields.’

11 ‘But on the seventh year, leave the land alone. Let the poor eat whatever grows by itself. Anything left over, let the wild animals have it. Do the same with your vineyards and olive groves.’

12 ‘Work for six days, but on the seventh day, rest. That way, your workers, your animals, and the foreigners living among you can catch a break.’

13 ‘Pay attention to everything I told you. Do not even mention the names of other gods, do not let those names come outta your mouth.’

Three Festivals to Honor God

14 ‘Three times a year, you all need to throw a festival for Me.’

15 ‘Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, eat bread without yeast for seven days, just like I told you. Do this every year in the month of Abib, because that is when you all left Egypt. And do not show up empty-handed.’

16 ‘Celebrate the Feast of Harvest, when you bring the first crops you gathered from your fields. Also, celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year when you collect all your crops.’

17 ‘Three times a year, every dude must come before the Lord.’

18 ‘Do not offer blood sacrifices to Me with anything made with yeast. And do not leave the fat from My festival offerings till morning.’

19 ‘Bring the best of your first crops to My house. And do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.’

God’s Promise to Protect Israel

20 ‘I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you on the way and lead you to the place I prepared.’

21 ‘Listen to him and do what he says. Do not rebel against him, because he carries My authority, and I will not forgive rebellion.’

22 ‘But if you obey him and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and fight those who fight you.’

23 ‘My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the lands of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I am going to wipe them out.’

24 ‘Do not worship their gods or follow their ways. Destroy their idols and smash their sacred pillars.’

25 ‘Worship Me, the Lord your God, and I will bless your food and water. I will keep you all healthy.’

26 ‘None of your women will miscarry or be barren. I will let you live full lives.’

27 ‘I will send fear ahead of you, throwing every nation you face into panic. Your enemies will turn and run.’

28 ‘I will send hornets ahead to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites.’

29 ‘But I will not clear them out in one year, because the land would become empty, and wild animals would take over.’

30 ‘I will push them out little by little, until your numbers grow, and you can take the land.’

31 ‘I will give you the land from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, from the desert to the Euphrates. I will hand your enemies over to you, and you will drive them out.’

32 ‘Do not make any peace deals with them or their gods.’

33 ‘Do not let them live among you, or they will turn you away from Me to worship their gods. If you do, it will be a trap that destroys you.’