Exodus 23:1-9

Christian Standard Bible

Laws about Honesty and Justice

23 “You must not spread a false report. Do not join^[a] the wicked to be a malicious witness.^(A)

² “You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice.^{(B) 3} Do not show favoritism to a poor person in his lawsuit.

⁴ “If you come across your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him.

⁵ “If you see the donkey of someone who hates you lying helpless under its load, and you want to refrain from helping it, you must help with it.^[b](C)

⁶ “You must not deny justice to a poor person among you in his lawsuit. ⁷ Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent and the just, because I will not justify the guilty.^{(D) 8} You must not take a bribe,^(E) for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and corrupts the words^[c] of the righteous. ⁹ You must not oppress a resident alien;^(F) you yourselves know how it feels to be a resident alien because you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.