231 Thou shalt not accept a false report; extend not thy hand to the wicked, to be an unrighteous witness. 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. 4 —If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt certainly bring it back to him. 5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under its burden, beware of leaving [it] to him: thou shalt certainly loosen [it] with him. 6 Thou shalt not pervert the judgment of thy poor in his cause. 7 Thou shalt keep far from the cause of falsehood; and the innocent and righteous slay not; for I will not justify the wicked. 8 And thou shalt take no bribe; for the bribe blindeth those whose eyes are open, and perverteth the words of the righteous. 9 And the stranger thou shalt not oppress; for ye know the spirit of the stranger, for ye have been strangers in the land of Egypt.
10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and gather in its produce; 11 but in the seventh thou shalt let it rest and lie [fallow], that the poor of thy people may eat [of it]; and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thine olive-tree. 12 —Six days thou shalt do thy work, but 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 ye shall be on your guard as to everything that I have said unto you; and shall make no mention of the name of other gods—it shall not be heard in thy mouth.
14 Thrice in the year thou shalt celebrate a feast to me. 15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread, (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I have commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear in my presence empty;) 16 and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours which thou hast sown in the field, and the feast of in-gathering, at the end of the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Exodus 23:1-16
Commentary on Exodus 23:1-9
(Read Exodus 23:1-9)
In the law of Moses are very plain marks of sound moral feeling, and of true political wisdom. Every thing in it is suited to the desired and avowed object, the worship of one only God, and the separation of Israel from the pagan world. Neither parties, friends, witnesses, nor common opinions, must move us to lessen great faults, to aggravate small ones, excuse offenders, accuse the innocent, or misrepresent any thing.
Commentary on Exodus 23:10-19
(Read Exodus 23:10-19)
Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, and interests shall cease for ever. All respect to the gods of the heathen is strictly forbidden. Since idolatry was a sin to which the Israelites leaned, they must blot out the remembrance of the gods of the heathen. Solemn religious attendance on God, in the place which he should choose, is strictly required. They must come together before the Lord. What a good Master do we serve, who has made it our duty to rejoice before him! Let us devote with pleasure to the service of God that portion of our time which he requires, and count his sabbaths and ordinances to be a feast unto our souls. They were not to come empty-handed; so now, we must not come to worship God empty-hearted; our souls must be filled with holy desires toward him, and dedications of ourselves to him; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.