Exodus 23:4-5

23:4 “If you encounter ¹  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ²  it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, ³  but be sure to help ⁴  him with it. ⁵ 

Deuteronomy 22:4

22:4 When you see ⁶  your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen along the road, do not ignore it; ⁷  instead, you must be sure ⁸  to help him get the animal on its feet again. ⁹ 

¹ tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

² tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

³ tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him” – refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

⁴ tn The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (’azav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 297-98).

⁵ sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.

⁶ tn Heb “you must not see.” See note at 22:1.

⁷ tn Heb “and (must not) hide yourself from them.”

⁸ tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, which the translation indicates with “be sure.”

⁹ tn Heb “help him to lift them up.” In keeping with English style the singular is used in the translation, and the referent (“the animal”) has been specified for clarity.