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The Blue Letter Bible

Exodus 23 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

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A Call for Justice
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:1 - “You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:2 - “You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:3 - And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:4 - “If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:5 - If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:6 - “In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:7 - “Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:8 - “Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:9 - “You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:10 - “Plant and harvest your crops for six years,
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:11 - but let the land be renewed and lie uncultivated during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its own. Leave the rest for wild animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:12 - “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:13 - “Pay close attention to all my instructions. You must not call on the name of any other gods. Do not even speak their names.
Three Annual Festivals
(Exo 34:18–26; Deu 16:1–17 )
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:14 - “Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:15 - First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib,[fn] for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may appear before me without an offering.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:16 - “Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest,[fn] when you bring me the first crops of your harvest.
“Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest[fn] at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:17 - At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the LORD.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:18 - “You must not offer the blood of my sacrificial offerings together with any baked goods containing yeast. And do not leave the fat from the festival offerings until the next morning.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:19 - “As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the LORD your God.
“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.
A Promise of the LORD’s Presence
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:20 - “See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:21 - Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:22 - But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:23 - For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:24 - You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:25 - “You must serve only the LORD your God. If you do, I[fn] will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:26 - There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:27 - “I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:28 - I will send terror[fn] ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:29 - But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:30 - I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:31 - And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea,[fn] and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River.[fn] I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:32 - “Make no treaties with them or their gods.
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 23:33 - They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.”
NLT Footnotes
Hebrew appointed time in the month of Abib. This first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of March and April.
Or Festival of Weeks. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).
Or Festival of Ingathering. This was later called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Tabernacles (see Lev 23:33-36). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth).
As in Greek and Latin versions; Hebrew reads he.
Often rendered the hornet. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Hebrew from the sea of reeds to the sea of the Philistines.
Hebrew from the wilderness to the river.
NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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For more information on this translation, see the NLT Preface.

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Exodus Chapter 23 — Additional Translations: