Exodus23
New King James Version
1“You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
2You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice.
3You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute.
4“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.
5If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
6“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute.
7Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.
8And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.
9“Also you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
10“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce,
11but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.
13“And in all that I have said to you, be circumspect and make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.
14“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year:
15You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty);
16and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.
18“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning.
19The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
20“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
21Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.
22But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, 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 in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off.
24You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.
25“So you shall serve the Lord your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you.
26No one shall suffer miscarriage or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.
27“I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
28And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
29I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.
30Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land.
31And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you.
32You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
33They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely 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.