Worthy.Bible » Parallel » Exodus » Chapter 23 » Verse 2-3

Exodus 23:2-3 King James Version (KJV)

2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.


Exodus 23:2-3 King James Version with Strong's Concordance (STRONG)

2 Thou shalt not follow H310 a multitude H7227 to do evil; H7451 neither shalt thou speak H6030 in a cause H7379 to decline H5186 after H310 many H7227 to wrest H5186 judgment:

3 Neither shalt thou countenance H1921 a poor H1800 man in his cause. H7379


Exodus 23:2-3 American Standard (ASV)

2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to wrest `justice':

3 neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause.


Exodus 23:2-3 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

2 `Thou art not after many to evil, nor dost thou testify concerning a strife, to turn aside after many to cause `others' to turn aside;

3 and a poor man thou dost not honour in his strife.


Exodus 23:2-3 Darby English Bible (DARBY)

2 Thou shalt not follow the multitude for evil; neither shalt thou answer in a cause, to go after the multitude to pervert [judgment].

3 Neither shalt thou favour a poor man in his cause.


Exodus 23:2-3 World English Bible (WEB)

2 You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; neither shall you testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice;

3 neither shall you favor a poor man in his cause.


Exodus 23:2-3 Bible in Basic English (BBE)

2 Do not be moved to do wrong by the general opinion, or give the support of your words to a wrong decision:

3 But, on the other hand, do not be turned from what is right in order to give support to a poor man's cause.

Commentary on Exodus 23 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible


CHAPTER 23

Ex 23:1-33. Laws concerning Slander, &c.

1. put not thine hand—join not hands.

2. decline—depart, deviate from the straight path of rectitude.

3. countenance—adorn, embellish—thou shalt not varnish the cause even of a poor man to give it a better coloring than it merits.

10. six years thou shalt sow thy land—intermitting the cultivation of the land every seventh year. But it appears that even then there was a spontaneous produce which the poor were permitted freely to gather for their use, and the beasts driven out fed on the remainder, the owners of fields not being allowed to reap or collect the fruits of the vineyard or oliveyard during the course of this sabbatical year. This was a regulation subservient to many excellent purposes; for, besides inculcating the general lesson of dependence on Providence, and of confidence in His faithfulness to His promise respecting the triple increase on the sixth year (Le 25:20, 21), it gave the Israelites a practical proof that they held their properties of the Lord as His tenants, and must conform to His rules on pain of forfeiting the lease of them.

12. Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest—This law is repeated [Ex 20:9] lest any might suppose there was a relaxation of its observance during the sabbatical year.

13. make no mention of the name of other gods, &c.—that is, in common conversation, for a familiar use of them would tend to lessen horror of idolatry.

14-18. Three times … keep a feast … in the year—This was the institution of the great religious festivals—"The feast of unleavened bread," or the passover—"the feast of harvest," or pentecost—"the feast of ingathering," or the feast of tabernacles, which was a memorial of the dwelling in booths in the wilderness, and which was observed in the seventh month (Ex 12:2). All the males were enjoined to repair to the tabernacle and afterwards the temple, and the women frequently went. The institution of this national custom was of the greatest importance in many ways: by keeping up a national sense of religion and a public uniformity in worship, by creating a bond of unity, and also by promoting internal commerce among the people. Though the absence of all the males at these three festivals left the country defenseless, a special promise was given of divine protection, and no incursion of enemies was ever permitted to happen on those occasions.

19. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk—A prohibition against imitating the superstitious rites of the idolaters in Egypt, who, at the end of their harvest, seethed a kid in its mother's milk and sprinkled the broth as a magical charm on their gardens and fields, to render them more productive the following season. [See on De 14:21].

20-25. Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way—The communication of these laws, made to Moses and by him rehearsed to the people, was concluded by the addition of many animating promises, intermingled with several solemn warnings that lapses into sin and idolatry would not be tolerated or passed with impunity.

21. my name is in him—This angel is frequently called Jehovah and Elohim, that is, God.

28. I will send hornets before thee, &c. (See on Jos 24:12)—Some instrument of divine judgment, but variously interpreted: as hornets in a literal sense [Bochart]; as a pestilential disease [Rosenmuller]; as a terror of the Lord, an extraordinary dejection [Junius].

29, 30. I will not drive … out … in one year; lest the land become desolate—Many reasons recommend a gradual extirpation of the former inhabitants of Canaan. But only one is here specified—the danger lest, in the unoccupied grounds, wild beasts should inconveniently multiply; a clear proof that the promised land was more than sufficient to contain the actual population of the Israelites.