Exodus 23:1-11

1 "Thou shalt not raise a false report. Put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

2 Thou shalt not follow the multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause, following many, to divert judgment.

3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.

4 "If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

6 "Thou shalt not divert the judgment from thy poor in his cause.

7 Keep thee far from a false matter, and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked.

8 And thou shalt take no bribe, for the bribe blindeth the wise and perverteth the words of the righteous.

9 "Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger; for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

10 "And six years thou shalt sow thy land and shalt gather in the fruits thereof,

11 but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still, that the poor of thy people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard and with thy olive trees.

Exodus 23:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

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.