Exodus23
New American Standard
1“You shall not give a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked person to be a malicious witness.
2You shall not follow the crowd in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to join together with a crowd in order to pervert justice;
3nor shall you show favor to a poor person in his dispute.
4“If you encounter your enemy’s ox or his donkey wandering away, you must return it to him.
5If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall not leave it helpless for its owner; you must arrange the load with him.
6“You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute.
7Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
8“You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just.
9“You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10“Now you shall sow your land for six years and gather in its yield,
11but in the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie uncultivated, so that the needy of your people may eat; and whatever they leave the animal of the field may eat. You are to do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12“For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as the stranger residing with you, may refresh themselves.
13Now concerning everything which I have said to you, be careful; and do not mention the name of other gods, nor let them be heard from your mouth.
14“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.
15You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days you are to eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt. And no one is to appear before Me empty-handed.
16Also you shall keep the Feast of the Harvest of the first fruits of your labors from what you sow in the field; also the Feast of the Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.
18“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning.
19“You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God. “You are not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother.
20“Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21Be attentive to him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your rebellion, since My name is in him.
22But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.
23For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.
24You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their memorial stones in pieces.
25And you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst.
26There will be no one miscarrying or unable to have children in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
27I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
28And I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from you.
29I will not drive them out from you in a single year, so that the land will not become desolate and the animals of the field become too numerous for you.
30I will drive them out from you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.
31I will set your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River; for I will hand over the inhabitants of the land to you, and you will drive them out from you.
32You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
33They shall not live in your land, otherwise they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it is certain to be a snare to you.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Exodus 23.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: 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).
vv1-9
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.
vv10-19
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.
vv20-33
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; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have 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.
Key Words
לֹא: not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles
נָשָׂא: to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, absolute and relative
שָׁוְא: evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile); figuratively idolatry (as false, subjective), uselessness (as deceptive, objective; also adverbially, in vain)
שֵׁמַע: something heard, i.e. a sound, rumor, announcement; abstractly, audience
שִׁית: to place (in a very wide application)
יָד: a hand (the open one (indicating power, means, direction, etc.),
רָשָׁע: morally wrong; concretely, an (actively) bad person
חָמָס: violence; by implication, wrong; by meton. unjust gain
עֵד: concretely, a witness; abstractly, testimony; specifically, a recorder, i.e. prince
אַחַר: properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses)
Cross References
Exodus 23Paul identifies the guiding Angel in the wilderness as Christ.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Paul identifies the guiding wilderness Angel who they tempted as Christ Himself.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Direct parallel command using 'hakim' (to lift up) instead of 'azab' to assist a fallen animal.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Verbatim parallel reiterating the firstfruits and the prohibition against seething a kid.
Supported by John Calvin
Deuteronomy reiterates the divine strategy of driving enemies out by little and little.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Connects with 'not raising a false report' by describing how to discourage backbiters.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Echoes the prohibition against perverting justice due to the poor and strangers.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Detailed expansion of the Sabbatical year laws introduced in this chapter.
Supported by JFB
Reiterates the command for all males to appear before Yahweh three times a year.
Supported by JFB
Parallel law forbidding boiling a kid in its mother's milk, connected to idolatrous harvest rites.
Supported by JFB
Moses repeats the specific promise that God will send hornets among their enemies.
Supported by JFB
Specifies the identical boundaries promised to Abraham, from the River to the sea.
Repeats the strict prohibition against making covenants with Canaan's inhabitants.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Warns against being snared by inquiring after and serving pagan gods.
Supported by John Calvin
Thematic match for keeping far from unrighteousness to ensure divine blessing.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identical prescription regarding the blood of sacrifice and unleavened bread.
Supported by John Calvin
Further promise of God's Angel leading Israel after the golden calf incident.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the command to break down images and cut down pagan groves.
Supported by John Calvin
Elaborates on the promise that God will take away all sickness if they obey.
Establishes God as the healer who takes sickness away upon obedience.
Echoes the promise of blessing where none shall be male or female barren.
The historical fulfillment of God sending the hornet to drive out the Canaanites.
Supported by JFB
Records the historic fulfillment of the expansive borders during Solomon's reign.
Verbal link to joining hands ('put not thine hand') to do evil.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Internal cross-reference warning judges to keep far from a false matter.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The fourth commandment is restated here to prevent its neglect during sabbatical years.
Supported by JFB
Warns that remaining nations will become a snare and trap if tolerated.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Tragic fulfillment showing Israel served pagan idols, which became a snare.