Font Size
Exodus 23:4-19
New Catholic Bible
Exodus 23:4-19
New Catholic Bible
4 [a]“When you encounter the lost ox or donkey of your enemy, you shall bring it back to him. 5 When you see your enemy’s donkey lying helpless under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him alone. You must help him to release it.
6 “You shall not pervert justice for a needy person who turns to you in a dispute.
7 “Keep far away from falsehoods. Do not slay the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the wicked.
8 “Do not accept gifts, for gifts blind the clear-sighted and pervert the cause of the righteous.
9 “Do not oppress those who are sojourners, for you know the life of the sojourner because you yourselves were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
10 “For six years you shall sow the land and you shall harvest its produce, 11 but in the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow so that the needy of your people may eat of it. Whatever is left, let the beasts of the field eat it. You shall do likewise with your vineyards and your olive groves. 12 For six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest so that your ox and your donkey may rest, as well as the sons of your female slaves and your sojourners.
13 “You shall take heed of all that I have said to you. Do not mention the names of other gods, nor let them be heard on your lips.
14 Feasts and Rites To Be Observed.“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast in my honor.[b]
15 “You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. You must eat unleavened products for seven days, as I have commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month I brought you out of the land of Egypt. You will not appear before me empty-handed.
16 “You shall also observe the Harvest Feast of the firstfruits of that which you have sown in the fields as well as the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year when you gather the fruit of your labor in the fields.
17 “Three times a year all your men shall appear before the Lord God.
18 “You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread, nor shall you allow the fat of my feast to remain till the morning.
19 “You shall bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord, your God. You shall not cook a kid goat in its mother’s milk.[c]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 23:4 Every one is to be treated the same (see Deut 22:1-4). Jesus is the example par excellence in showing others what it means to “Love your enemies” (Mt 5:44).
- Exodus 23:14 The feasts are those of the springtime (Unleavened Bread—Passover; see Ex 12:1, 11), of the summer (Feast of Weeks or Pentecost: 34:22), and of autumn (harvest festivals or Booths: Lev 23:34-43; Deut 16:13). (See Ex 34:18-23; Num 28–29; Deut 16:1-16.)
- Exodus 23:19 Cooking a young goat in its mother’s milk was a pagan custom of the Canaanites.
Exodus 23:4-19
New International Version
Exodus 23:4-19
New International Version
4 “If you come across your enemy’s(A) ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it.(B) 5 If you see the donkey(C) of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it.
6 “Do not deny justice(D) to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge(E) and do not put an innocent(F) or honest person to death,(G) for I will not acquit the guilty.(H)
8 “Do not accept a bribe,(I) for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.
9 “Do not oppress a foreigner;(J) you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.
Sabbath Laws
10 “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, 11 but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused.(K) Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
12 “Six days do your work,(L) but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed.(M)
13 “Be careful(N) to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods;(O) do not let them be heard on your lips.(P)
The Three Annual Festivals
14 “Three times(Q) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;(R) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(S) for in that month you came out of Egypt.
“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(T)
16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest(U) with the firstfruits(V) of the crops you sow in your field.
“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering(W) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.(X)
17 “Three times(Y) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.
18 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.(Z)
“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.(AA)
19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(AB) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(AC)
Exodus 23:4-19
New King James Version
Exodus 23:4-19
New King James Version
4 (A)“If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again. 5 (B)If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying under its burden, and you would refrain from helping it, you shall surely help him with it.
6 (C)“You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute. 7 (D)Keep yourself far from a false matter; (E)do not kill the innocent and righteous. For (F)I will not justify the wicked. 8 And (G)you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.
9 “Also (H)you shall not oppress a [a]stranger, for you know the heart of a stranger, because you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
The Law of Sabbaths
10 (I)“Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its produce, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave, the beasts of the field may eat. In like manner you shall do with your vineyard and your [b]olive grove. 12 (J)Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.
13 “And in all that I have said to you, (K)be circumspect and (L)make no mention of the name of other gods, nor let it be heard from your mouth.
Three Annual Feasts(M)
14 (N)“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: 15 (O)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; (P)none shall appear before Me empty); 16 (Q)and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and (R)the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17 (S)“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord [c]God.
18 (T)“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened (U)bread; nor shall the fat of My [d]sacrifice remain until morning. 19 (V)The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. (W)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 23:9 sojourner
- Exodus 23:11 olive yards
- Exodus 23:17 Heb. YHWH, usually translated Lord
- Exodus 23:18 feast
Exodus 23:4-19
English Standard Version
Exodus 23:4-19
English Standard Version
4 (A)“If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.
6 (B)“You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his lawsuit. 7 (C)Keep far from a false charge, and (D)do not kill the innocent and righteous, for (E)I will not acquit the wicked. 8 (F)And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.
9 (G)“You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Laws About the Sabbath and Festivals
10 (H)“For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
12 (I)“Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.
13 (J)“Pay attention to all that I have said to you, and make no mention of the names of other gods, nor let it be heard on your lips.
14 (K)“Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. 15 (L)You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of (M)Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. (N)None shall appear before me empty-handed. 16 You shall keep (O)the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the (P)Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. 17 (Q)Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God.
18 (R)“You shall not offer the blood of my sacrifice with anything leavened, or let the fat of my feast remain until the morning.
19 “The best of the (S)firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.
(T)“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.
Read full chapter
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.