What does “Thou shalt not raise a false report” teach?

This command warns against starting or spreading lies about someone. It covers more than just speaking in court. It includes gossip, slander, and passing along stories we do not know are true. God also forbids joining with wicked people to be an unfair witness. He cares deeply that the truth is told, especially where someone’s life or reputation is at stake. This pushes us not only to avoid lying, but also to refuse to repeat rumors or side with people who twist the truth.

What does it mean not to follow a multitude to do evil?

This line teaches that right and wrong are not decided by numbers. A crowd can be wrong. God tells judges and ordinary people not to join others when they do evil, even if many are doing it. We are not to bend our words in a case just because most people or powerful people want a certain result. Each person must listen to God’s commands and stand for what is right, even when it is lonely or costly.

Why are there commands to help an enemy’s ox or donkey?

These examples show that love for neighbor even reaches to an enemy’s animals. If you see your enemy’s ox or donkey lost, you must return it. If his donkey has fallen under a load, you must help lift it, even if you would rather walk away. God calls this theft if we refuse to help when we can. The idea is that His people should not live by hate or payback, but by quiet acts of mercy, doing good even to those who dislike them.

What is the sabbatical year in this passage?

The sabbatical year is when, after six years of sowing and reaping, the land is left to rest in the seventh year. People do not till or plant as usual. Whatever grows on its own is left for the poor and then for wild animals. This shows that the land belongs to God, not to them alone. It teaches trust in His care, kindness to the needy, and even mercy toward the land itself. It also reminds them that their wealth and food come from God’s hand.

Why must Israel not oppress a stranger?

God reminds Israel that they themselves had been strangers and slaves in Egypt. They “know the heart of a stranger,” meaning they know how it feels to be weak, far from home, and easily wronged. Because of this, they must not crush or cheat foreigners living among them. God wants His people to remember their own past pain and let that memory move them to gentleness and fairness toward those who have little power or protection in the land.

What are the three yearly feasts mentioned here?

The passage names three yearly feasts. First is the feast of unleavened bread, when they eat bread without yeast to remember being brought out of Egypt in haste. Second is the feast of harvest, linked to the first fruits of the grain they sowed. Third is the feast of ingathering at the end of the year when they bring in their crops from the field. At these times, the men of Israel must gather before the Lord, bringing what He has given them back to Him in thanks.

Who is the Angel God sends before Israel in this passage?

God speaks of an Angel He sends ahead of Israel to guard them on the way and bring them to the land He has prepared. God’s name is said to be in him, and the people are told to listen to his voice and not provoke him, for he will not overlook their sins. Through this Angel, God Himself leads, protects, and judges His people. He will go before them into the lands of the nations named and will act as both guide and defender.

Why must Israel destroy the gods and images of the nations?

Israel is told not to bow down to the gods of the nations, not to serve them, and not to copy their ways. They are to tear down the images and overthrow the places of idol worship. If the nations stay and their gods are honored, Israel will be tempted to sin and will be trapped by those false worships. God wants His people to belong to Him alone, so He commands them to break not only with the idols themselves, but also with the customs that go with them.

What does this passage teach about God’s character?

This passage shows God as just, kind, and faithful. He cares that courts are honest, that no one lies or takes bribes, and that the poor and strangers are treated fairly. He also commands kindness even toward enemies and rest for workers, animals, and the land. At the same time, He promises to bless food, remove sickness, and drive out enemies little by little. He is firm against sin and idols, but He also guards and provides for those who serve Him.

How can these commands apply to life today?

While the setting is ancient Israel, the heart of these commands still speaks today. We are called to tell the truth, refuse gossip, and not be swayed by crowds or bribes. We should do practical good even to people we dislike, and care about the poor, the foreigner, and those with less power. We also learn to keep regular rest and to give God the first and best of what we have. Above all, we are warned not to let anything take God’s place in our hearts.

Exod.23.1

Exodus 23:1

KJV GOD

Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Justice and Mercy

1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

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.

4 ¶ If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.

5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.

7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.

8 ¶ And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

9 ¶ Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Sabbath Laws

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:

11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.

12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.

The Three Feasts of Pilgrimage

14 ¶ Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.

15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)

16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.

18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.

19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

God’s Angel to Lead

20 ¶ Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

25 And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.

26 ¶ There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.

27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.

28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.

29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.

30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.

31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.