Exodus 23:1 - Forerunner Commentary

Exodus 23:1

Justice for All

1 “You ^ashall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an ^bunrighteous witness.

2 ^aYou shall not follow a crowd to do evil; ^bnor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.

3 You shall not show partiality to a ^apoor man in his dispute.

4 ^a“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.

5 ^aIf 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 ^a“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute.

7 ^aKeep yourself far from a false matter; ^bdo not kill the innocent and righteous. For ^cI will not justify the wicked.

8 And ^ayou ^bshall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.

9 “Also you shall not oppress a¹ stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

The Law of Sabbaths

10 ^a“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 your¹ olive grove.

Verse Comparison: Exodus 23:1

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Exodus 23:2 >>

American Standard Version
Thou shalt not take up a false report: put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Amplified® Bible
YOU SHALL not repeat {or} raise a false report; you shall not join with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Contemporary English Version
Don't spread harmful rumors or help a criminal by giving false evidence.

Darby English Version
Thou shalt not accept a false report; extend not thy hand to the wicked, to be an unrighteous witness.

Good News Bible
"Do not spread false rumors, and do not help a guilty person by giving false testimony.

King James Version
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

New American Standard Bible
"You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.

New International Version
"Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.

New King James Version
“You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
" You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to serve as a malicious witness.

Revised Standard Version
"You shall not utter a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man, to be a malicious witness.

Young's Literal Translation
`Thou dost not lift up a vain report; thou dost not put thy hand with a wicked man to be a violent witness.

New English Translation
¹ “You must not give² a false report.³ Do not make common cause⁴ with the wicked⁵ to be a malicious⁶ witness.

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Justice for All

The Law of Sabbaths

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