Exodus 23:1-13
Do Not Spread a False Report
Read the passage
1“You 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.
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.
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.
10For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce,
11but in the seventh year you must let it rest and lie fallow, so that the poor among your people may eat from the field and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and olive grove.
12For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.
13Pay close attention to everything I have said to you. You must not invoke the names of other gods; they must not be heard on your lips.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
God forbids spreading a false report, joining the wicked in bearing false witness, following a crowd into evil, and showing partiality in court. He commands care for an enemy's animal, rest for the land, and a Sabbath pattern that gives servants and sojourners relief.
Truth and mercy belong in public life. Justice cannot be shaped by popularity, resentment, or the desire to win a case at another person's expense.
Being poor must neither win someone a case nor deny them a fair hearing. God protects the poor without allowing favoritism to replace truth. He also tells Israel to remember how it felt to live as foreigners in Egypt. The people He rescued must not become oppressors themselves.
Truthful speech protects people who cannot answer a rumor. Before joining a crowd, give the absent person the fairness you would want if the story were about you.
Questions
1 How can a crowd or a bribe distort justice?
AnswerA crowd can pressure someone to repeat a false accusation, and a bribe can twist an otherwise honest judgment. God requires truthful testimony even when it costs us approval or money.
2 How should Israel treat an enemy's wandering animal?
AnswerIf an Israelite sees an enemy's stray ox or donkey, he must return it. If the donkey has fallen under its load, he must help rather than walk away.
3 Why should someone's poverty neither win nor lose their lawsuit?
AnswerGod commands Israel not to favor a poor person and not to deny that person justice. A fair hearing must depend on what is true, rather than on wealth or social standing.
4 What could we do when people pass along a damaging story about someone?
AnswerWe can refuse to repeat what we do not know, ask how the story was verified, and avoid treating an accusation as a verdict. The absent person deserves the fairness we would want for ourselves.
What This Means for Us
A just household cannot let popularity decide what is true. These commands also widen the idea of neighbor to include people we dislike, workers who serve us, and creation entrusted to our care.
Let truth, mercy, and rest interrupt the habits that make life efficient but unjust.
Prayer
We pray: God of truth and mercy, keep us from spreading reports we cannot prove or following a crowd into wrong. Help us do good even to an enemy, protect time for rest, and treat the land and workers in our care with justice. Amen.