Exodus 23

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 'You will not spread false rumours. You wil not lend support to the wicked by giving untrue evidence.	1 "You shall not repeat a false report. Do not join the wicked in putting your hand, as an unjust witness, upon anyone.
2 You will not be led into wrong-doing by the majority nor, when giving evidence in a lawsuit, side withthe majority to pervert the course of justice;	2 Neither shall you allege the example of the many as an excuse for doing wrong, nor shall you, when testifying in a lawsuit, side with the many in perverting justice.
3 nor wil you show partiality to the poor in a lawsuit.	3 You shall not favor a poor man in his lawsuit.
4 'If you come on your enemy's ox or donkey straying, you wil take it back to him.	4 "When you come upon your enemy's ox or ass going astray, see to it that it is returned to him.
5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fal en under its load, do not stand back; you must goand help him with it.	5 When you notice the ass of one who hates you lying prostrate under its burden, by no means desert him; help him, rather, to raise it up.
6 'You will not cheat the poor among you of their rights at law.	6 "You shall not deny one of your needy fellow men his rights in his lawsuit.
7 Keep clear of fraud. Do not cause the death of the innocent or upright, and do not acquit the guilty.	7 You shall keep away from anything dishonest. The innocent and the just you shall not put to death, nor shall you acquit the guilty.
8 You will accept no bribes, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and is the ruin of the cause of the upright.	8 Never take a bribe, for a bribe blinds even the most clear-sighted and twists the words even of the just.
9 'You will not oppress the alien; you know how an alien feels, for you yourselves were once aliens inEgypt.	9 You shall not oppress an alien; you well know how it feels to be an alien, since you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
10 'For six years you will sow your land and gather its produce,	10 "For six years you may sow your land and gather in its produce.
11 but in the seventh year you will let it lie fal ow and forgo al produce from it, so that those of yourpeople who are poor can take food from it and the wild animals eat what they have left. You wil do the samewith your vineyard and your olive grove.	11 But the seventh year you shall let the land lie untilled and unharvested, that the poor among you may eat of it and the beasts of the field may eat what the poor leave. So also shall you do in regard to your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 'For six days you wil do your work, and on the seventh you will rest, so that your ox and your donkeymay rest and the child of your slave-girl have a breathing space, and the alien too.	12 "For six days you may do your work, but on the seventh day you must rest, that your ox and your ass may also have rest, and that the son of your maidservant and the alien may be refreshed.
13 'Take notice of everything I have told you and do not mention the name of any other god: let noneever be heard from your lips.	13 Give heed to all that I have told you. "Never mention the name of any other god; it shall not be heard from your lips.
14 'Three times a year you wil hold a festival in my honour.	14 "Three times a year you shall celebrate a pilgrim feast to me.
15 You wil observe the feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you wil eat unleavened bread, as Ihave commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. Noone will appear before me empty-handed.	15 You shall keep the feast of Unleavened Bread. As I have commanded you, you must eat unleavened bread for seven days at the prescribed time in the month of Abib, for it was then that you came out of Egypt. No one shall appear before me empty-handed.
16 You wil also observe the feast of Harvest, of the first-fruits of your labours in sowing the fields, andthe feast of Ingathering, at the end of the year, once you have brought the fruits of your labours in from the fields.	16 You shall also keep the feast of the grain harvest with the first of the crop that you have sown in the field; and finally, the feast at the fruit harvest at the end of the year, when you gather in the produce from the fields.
17 Three times a year al your menfolk will appear before Lord Yahweh.	17 Thrice a year shall all your men appear before the Lord GOD.
18 'You wil not offer the blood of my victim with leavened bread, nor wil the fat of my feast be kept tilthe following day.	18 "You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of my feast be kept overnight till the next day.
19 'You wil bring the best of the first-fruits of your soil to the house of Yahweh your God. 'You wil notboil a kid in its mother's milk.	19 The choicest first fruits of your soil you shall bring to the house of the LORD, your God. "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.
20 'Look, I am sending an angel to precede you, to guard you as you go and bring you to the place that Ihave prepared.	20 "See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared.
21 Revere him and obey what he says. Do not defy him: he wil not forgive any wrong-doing on yourpart, for my name is in him.	21 Be attentive to him and heed his voice. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your sin. My authority resides in him.
22 If, however, you obey what he says and do whatever I order, I shal be an enemy to your enemiesand a foe to your foes.	22 If you heed his voice and carry out all I tell you, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
23 My angel wil precede you and lead you to the home of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, theCanaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, whom I shal exterminate.	23 "My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out.
24 You wil not bow down to their gods or worship them or observe their rites, but throw them down andsmash their cultic stones.	24 Therefore, you shall not bow down in worship before their gods, nor shall you make anything like them; rather, you must demolish them and smash their sacred pillars.
25 You wil worship Yahweh your God, and then I shal bless your food and water, and keep you free ofsickness.	25 The LORD, your God, you shall worship; then I will bless your food and drink, and I will remove all sickness from your midst;
26 In your country no woman will miscarry, none be sterile, and I shall give you your ful term of life.	26 no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry; and I will give you a full span of life.
27 'I shal send terror of myself ahead of you; I shal throw al the peoples you encounter into confusion,and make al your enemies take to their heels.	27 "I will have the fear of me precede you, so that I will throw into panic every nation you reach. I will make all your enemies turn from you in flight,
28 I shal send hornets ahead of you to drive Hivite, Canaanite and Hittite out before you.	28 and ahead of you I will send hornets to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
29 I shal not drive them out ahead of you in a single year, or the land might become a desert where wildanimals would multiply to your cost.	29 But not in one year will I drive them all out before you; else the land will become so desolate that the wild beasts will multiply against you.
30 I shal drive them out little by little before you, until your numbers grow sufficient for you to takepossession of the land.	30 Instead, I will drive them out little by little before you, until you have grown numerous enough to take possession of the land.
31 And your frontiers I shall fix from the Sea of Reeds to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desertto the River, for I shal put the inhabitants of the territory at your mercy, and you will drive them out before you.	31 I will set your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River; all who dwell in this land I will hand over to you to be driven out of your way.
32 You wil make no pact with them or with their gods.	32 You shall not make a covenant with them or their gods.
33 They may not stay in your country or they might make you sin against me, for you would serve theirgods, and that would be a snare for you!'	33 They must not abide in your land, lest they make you sin against me by ensnaring you into worshiping their gods."