Exodus 23

1 Thou shalt not receive a voice of leasing (Thou shalt not spread a rumour, or a lie), (and) thou shalt not raise thine hand, that is, make (a) covenant, either (a) promise, that thou say false witnessing for a wicked man.

2 Thou shalt not follow a company to do evil, neither thou shalt assent to the sentence of full many men in doom, that thou go away from truth. (Thou shalt not follow a crowd and do evil, nor shalt thou agree with the sentence, or the decree, of a great many men in judgement, and in doing so, go away from the truth.)

3 Also thou shalt not have mercy of a poor man in a cause, or doom. (And thou shalt not favour a poor person in his case, or in its judgement.)

4 If thou meetest thine enemy's ox, either his ass, straying, lead it again to him. (If thou seest thy enemy's ox, or his donkey, straying, lead it back to him.

5 If thou seest that the ass of him that hateth thee lieth under a burden, thou shalt not pass, but thou shalt raise up it with him. (If thou seest that the donkey of him who hateth thee lieth under a burden, thou shalt not pass by, but thou shalt raise it up with him.)

6 Thou shalt not bow [away] from truth in the doom of a poor man. (Thou shalt not turn away from the truth in the judgement of a poor person.)

7 Thou shalt flee leasing. Thou shalt not slay an innocent man, and just; for I am adversary to a wicked man. (Thou shalt flee from lies. Thou shalt not kill the innocent, or the just; for I am the adversary to the wicked.)

8 Take thou not gifts, that blind, yea, prudent men, and destroy the words of just men. (Do not take gifts, or bribes, that blind, yea, the prudent, and that destroy the words of the just.)

9 Thou shalt not be dis-easeful of a pilgrim, for ye know the souls of comelings, for also ye were pilgrims in the land of Egypt. (Thou shalt not mis-treat a foreigner, for ye know the souls of newcomers, for ye were foreigners in the land of Egypt.)

10 Six years thou shalt sow thy land, and thou shalt gather [the] fruits thereof;

11 forsooth in the seventh year thou shalt leave it, and make it to rest, that the poor men of thy people eat, and whatever is left ungathered, the beasts of the field eat it; so thou shalt do in thy vinery, and in the place of thine olive trees. (but in the seventh year thou shalt let it be, and allow it to rest, and thy poor people shall get food from it, and whatever is left ungathered, the beasts of the field shall eat it; so shalt thou also do with thy vineyard, and with the place of thy olive trees.)

12 Six days thou shalt work, and in the seventh day thou shalt cease, that thine ox, and thine ass rest, and the son of thine handmaid, and the comeling be refreshed. (For six days thou shalt work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest, so that thy ox, and thy donkey, can also rest, and so that the son of thy slave-girl, and the newcomer, or the foreigner, can be refreshed.)

13 Keep ye all things, which I [have] said to you; and ye shall not swear by the name of alien gods, neither it shall be heard of your mouth. (Hold ye onto all the things, that I have said to you; and ye shall not swear in the name of foreign, or other, gods, nor shall it be heard coming out of your mouths.)

14 In three times by all years ye shall hallow feasts to me. (Three times each year ye shall dedicate Feasts to me.

15 Thou shalt keep the solemnity of therf loaves; seven days thou shalt eat therf bread, as I commanded to thee, in the time of [the] month of new things, when thou wentest out of Egypt; thou shalt not appear void in my sight. (Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded to thee, at the time of the month of Abib, when thou wentest out of Egypt; and thou shalt not appear before me empty-handed.)

16 And thou shalt keep the solemnity of the month of the first things of thy works, (of) whatever things thou hast sown in the field. Also thou shalt keep the solemnity in the going out of the year, when thou hast gathered all thy fruits of the field. (And thou shalt keep the Feast of the First Fruits of thy works, with whatever things thou hast sown in the field. And thou shalt keep the Feast of Ingathering , when thou hast gathered in all thy fruits from the field, in the going out of the year.)

17 (So) Thrice in the year all thy male kind shall appear before thy Lord God.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of thy slain sacrifice on sourdough; neither the fatness of my solemnity shall dwell till to the morrowtide. (Thou shalt not offer the blood of my slain sacrifice with anything made with yeast; and the fat of my sacrifice for any Feast shall not remain until the morning.)

19 Thou shalt bear the first things of the fruits of thy land into the house of thy Lord God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in the milk of his mother

20 Lo! I send mine angel, that shall go before thee, and shall keep thee in the way, and shall lead thee to the place which I have made ready to thee. (Lo! I shall send an angel before thee, and he shall keep thee safe on the way, and he shall lead thee to the place which I have prepared for thee.)

21 Take thou heed to him, and hear thou his voice, neither guess thou him to be despised, or despisable; for he shall not forgive (thee), when thou sinnest, and my name is in him (for my authority is with him)

22 For if thou hearest his voice, and doest all things which I speak (But if thou listenest to his voice, and doest all the things which I say to thee), I shall be (an) enemy to thine enemies, and I shall torment them, that torment thee;

23 and mine angel shall go before thee, and he shall lead in thee to Amorites (and he shall lead thee to the Amorites), and Hittites, and Perizzites, and Canaanites, and Hivites, and Jebusites, which I shall break, or destroy.

24 Thou shalt not honour the gods of them, neither thou shalt worship them; thou shalt not do the works of them (thou shalt not follow their rites), but thou shalt destroy their gods, and thou shalt break the images of them.

25 And ye shall serve to your Lord God, (so) that I (can) bless thy loaves, and thy waters, and do away sickness from the midst of thee;

26 neither a woman unfruitful, neither barren, shall be in thy land (no unfruitful, or barren, woman shall be in thy land); (and) I shall fulfill the number of thy days.

27 I shall send my dread into thy before-going (I shall send the fear of me before thee), and I shall slay all the people, to which thou shalt enter, and I shall turn the backs of all thine enemies before thee;

28 and I shall send out before thee crabrones, or stinging flies, that shall drive away (the) Hivite, and Canaanite, and Hittite, before that thou enter.

29 (But) I shall not cast them out from thy face in one year, lest the land be turned into wilderness, and beasts increase against thee;

30 little and little I shall cast them out from thy sight, till thou be increased, and wield the land.

31 Forsooth and I shall set thy terms from the Red Sea till to the sea of Palestines, and from the desert till to the flood (And I shall set thy borders from the Red Sea unto the Sea of the Philistines, or the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness unto the Euphrates River). I shall give (in)to your hands the dwellers of the land, and I shall cast them out from your sight;

32 thou shalt not make bond of peace with them, neither with their gods. (thou shalt not make a covenant with them, nor with their gods.)

33 Dwell they not in thy land, lest peradventure they make thee to do sin against me; if thou servest their gods, which thing certainly shall be to thee into cause of stumbling. (They shall not continue to live in thy land, lest they make thee to sin against me; for if thou servest their gods, that certainly shall become a cause of stumbling for thee.)

Exodus 23 Commentary

Chapter 23

Laws against falsehood and injustice. (1-9) The year of rest, The sabbath, The three festivals. (10-19) God promises to conduct the Israelites to Canaan. (20-33)

Verses 1-9 In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one only God, and the separation of Israel from the pagan world. Neither parties, friends, witnesses, nor common opinions, must move us to lessen great faults, to aggravate small ones, excuse offenders, accuse the innocent, or misrepresent any thing.

Verses 10-19 Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, and interests shall cease for ever. All respect to the gods of the heathen is strictly forbidden. Since idolatry was a sin to which the Israelites leaned, they must blot out the remembrance of the gods of the heathen. Solemn religious attendance on God, in the place which he should choose, is strictly required. They must come together before the Lord. What a good Master do we serve, who has made it our duty to rejoice before him! Let us devote with pleasure to the service of God that portion of our time which he requires, and count his sabbaths and ordinances to be a feast unto our souls. They were not to come empty-handed; so now, we must not come to worship God empty-hearted; our souls must be filled with holy desires toward him, and dedications of ourselves to him; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Verses 20-33 It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; ( 1 Corinthians. 10:9 ) a comfortable settlement in the land of Canaan. How reasonable are the conditions of this promise; that they should serve the only true God; not the gods of the nations, which are no gods at all. How rich are the particulars of this promise! The comfort of their food, the continuance of their health, the increase of their wealth, the prolonging their lives to old age. Thus hath godliness the promise of the life that now is. It is promised that they should subdue their enemies. Hosts of hornets made way for the hosts of Israel; such mean creatures can God use for chastising his people's enemies. In real kindness to the church, its enemies are subdued by little and little; thus we are kept on our guard, and in continual dependence on God. Corruptions are driven out of the hearts of God's people, not all at once, but by little and little. The precept with this promise is, that they should not make friendship with idolaters. Those that would keep from bad courses, must keep from bad company. It is dangerous to live in a bad neighbourhood; others' sins will be our snares. Our greatest danger is from those who would make us sin against God.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 23

This chapter contains several laws, chiefly judicial, relating to the civil polity of Israel, as concerning witness borne and judgment made of cases in courts of judicature, without any respect to poor or rich, and without the influence of a bribe, Ex 23:1-3,6-8, concerning doing good to an enemy in case any of his cattle go astray, or fall under their burden, Ex 23:4,5, and of the oppression of a stranger, Ex 23:9, and then follow others concerning the sabbath of the seventh year, and of the seventh day, with a caution against the use of the names of idols, Ex 23:10-13, next are laws concerning the appearance of all their males at the three feasts, Ex 23:14-17, and concerning the slaying of the sacrifice of the passover, and bringing the first of the firstfruits of the land, Ex 23:18,19 and then a promise is made of sending an angel to them to bring them into the land of Canaan, where they should carefully avoid all idolatry, and show a just indignation against it, and serve the Lord, and then it would be well with them, Ex 23:20-26, and particularly it is promised, that the Lord would send his fear, and his hornets, before them, to destroy the inhabitants of the land, and drive out the rest by little and little, until they should possess the utmost borders of it, which are fixed, Ex 23:27-31, and the chapter is concluded with a direction not to make a covenant with these people, or their gods, nor suffer them to dwell among them, lest they should be a snare unto them, Ex 23:32,33.