Exodus 23:2-9

23:2 “You must not follow a crowd ¹  in doing evil things; ²  in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, ³  23:3 and you must not show partiality ⁴  to a poor man in his lawsuit.

23:4 “If you encounter ⁵  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ⁶  it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, ⁷  but be sure to help ⁸  him with it. ⁹ 

23:6 “You must not turn away justice for your poor people in their lawsuits. 23:7 Keep your distance ¹⁰  from a false charge ¹¹  – do not kill the innocent and the righteous, ¹²  for I will not justify the wicked. ¹³ 

23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see ¹⁴  and subverts the words of the righteous.

23:9 “You must not oppress ¹⁵  a foreigner, since you know the life ¹⁶  of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

[23:2]  ¹ tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).

[23:2]  ² tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.

[23:2]  ³ tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”

[23:3]  ⁴ tn The point here is one of false sympathy and honor, the bad sense of the word הָדַר (hadar; see S. R. Driver, Exodus, 237).

[23:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[23:4]  ⁶ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[23:5]  ⁷ tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him” – refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

[23:5]  ⁸ 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).

[23:5]  ⁹ sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.

[23:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “stay away from,” or “have nothing to do with.”

[23:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a false matter,” this expression in this context would have to be a case in law that was false or that could only be won by falsehood.

[23:7]  ¹² tn The two clauses probably should be related: the getting involved in the false charge could lead to the death of an innocent person (so, e.g., Naboth in 1 Kgs 21:10-13).

[23:7]  ¹³ sn God will not declare right the one who is in the wrong. Society should also be consistent, but it cannot see the intents and motives, as God can.

[23:8]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”

[23:9]  ¹⁵ tn The verb means “to crush.” S. R. Driver notes that in this context this would probably mean with an unfair judgment in the courts (Exodus, 239).

[23:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “soul, life” – “you know what it feels like.”