Exodus 23:1-9·~1 min

Justice and Mercy

Israel is told not to spread lies, join corrupt testimony, or bend judgment with the crowd. Justice must not be distorted either by public pressure or by partiality toward the poor.

“¹You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness. ²You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd. ³And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

Even toward an enemy, Israel must act for another's good by returning stray animals and helping with a collapsed load. Hostility does not cancel the obligation of mercy.

⁴If you encounter your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. ⁵If you see the donkey of one who hates you fallen under its load, do not leave it there; you must help him with it.

The poor must not be denied justice, false accusations must be avoided, and bribes must be refused. The foreigner must not be oppressed, because Israel knows the life of a stranger from Egypt.

⁶You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits. ⁷Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty. ⁸Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous. ⁹Do not oppress a foreign resident, since you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners; for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

Section summaryThis section binds justice to truthfulness, fairness, and active mercy. False witness, crowd-shaped judgment, bribes, and oppression are forbidden, while even an enemy's loss or need must be answered with help.

Role in the chapterIt gives the covenant's social texture at street level. The chapter begins by showing that life under God's rule must shape courts, speech, and ordinary treatment of neighbors and strangers.