CHAPTER 23
You shall not
follow
a crowd
in wrongdoing.
When you testify
in
a lawsuit,
do not
pervert justice
by siding
with
a crowd.
If
you see
the donkey
of one who hates you
fallen
under
its load,
do not
leave
it there;
you must help him
with it.
Stay far away
from a false
accusation.
Do not
kill
the innocent
and the just,
for
I will not
acquit
the guilty.
Do not
oppress
a foreign resident,
since you
yourselves know
how it feels to be foreigners;
for
you were
foreigners
in the land
of Egypt.
but in the seventh year
you must let it rest
and lie fallow,
so that the poor
among your people
may eat
of the field,
and the wild animals
may consume
what they leave.
Do
the same
with your vineyard
and olive grove.
For six
days
you are to do
your work,
but on the seventh
day
you must cease,
so that
your ox
and your donkey
may rest,
and the son
of your maidservant
may be refreshed,
as well as the foreign resident.
Pay close attention
to everything
I have said
to you.
You must not
invoke
the names
of other
gods;
they must not
be heard
on
your lips.
You are to observe
the Feast
of Unleavened Bread
as
I commanded you:
At the appointed time
in the month
of Abib
you are to eat
unleavened bread
for seven
days,
because
that was the month
you came out
of Egypt.
No one
may appear
before Me
empty-handed.
You are also to observe the Feast
of Harvest
with the firstfruits
of the produce
from what
you sow
in the field.
And observe the Feast
of Ingathering
at the end
of the year,
when you gather
your produce
from
the field.
You must not
offer
the blood
of My sacrifices
with
anything leavened,
nor may
the fat
of My feast
remain
until
morning.
Bring
the best
of the firstfruits
of your soil
into the house
of the LORD
your God.
You must not
cook
a young goat
in its mother’s
milk.
Behold,
I
am sending
an angel
before you
to protect you
along the way
and to bring you
to
the place
I have prepared.
Pay attention
to him
and listen
to his voice;
do not
defy
him,
for
he will not
forgive
rebellion,
since
My Name
is in him.
But
if
you will listen carefully
to his voice
and do
everything
I say,
I will be an enemy
to your enemies
and a foe
to your foes.
For
My angel
will go
before you
and bring you
into
the land of the Amorites,
Hittites,
Perizzites,
Canaanites,
Hivites,
and Jebusites,
and I will annihilate them.
You must not
bow down
to their gods
or serve them
or
follow
their practices.
Instead,
you are to demolish them
and smash their sacred stones
to pieces.
So you shall serve
the LORD
your God,
and He will bless
your bread
and
your water.
And I will take away
sickness
from among you.
I will send
My terror
ahead of you
and throw into confusion
every
nation
you encounter.
I will make all
your enemies
turn
and run.
I will send
the hornet
before you
to drive
the Hivites
and Canaanites
and Hittites
out of your way.
I will not
drive them out
before you
in a single
year;
otherwise
the land
would become
desolate
and wild
animals
would multiply
against you.
Little
by little
I will drive them out
ahead of you,
until
you become fruitful
and possess
the land.
And I will fix
your borders
from the Red
Sea
to
the Sea
of the Philistines,
and from the desert
to
the Euphrates.
For
I will deliver
the inhabitants
into your hand,
and you will drive them out
before you.
They must not
remain
in your land,
lest
they cause you to sin against Me.
For
if you serve
their gods,
it will surely
be
a snare
to you.”