Exodus 23

Coverdale(i) 1 Thou shalt not accepte a vayne tale, that thou woldest manteyne the vngodly, and be a false wytnesse. 2 Thou shalt not folowe the multitude vnto euell, ner answere at the lawe that thou woldest (to folowe the multitude) turne a syde from the right. 3 Thou shalt not paynte a poore mas cause. 4 Yf thou mete thine enemies oxe or Asse, goinge astraye, thou shalt brynge the same vnto him agayne. 5 Yf thou se the Asse of him that hateth the, lye vnder his burthen, thou shalt not let him lye, but shalt helpe him vp. 6 Thou shalt not wraist the righte of thy poore in his cause. 7 Kepe the farre from false matters. The innocent and righteous shalt thou not sley, for I iustifie not ye vngodly. 8 Thou shalt not take giftes: for giftes blinde euen them yt are sharpe of sight, & wraist the righteous causes. 9 Ye shall not oppresse a straunger, for ye knowe the hert of straungers, for so moch as ye youre selues also haue bene straungers in the londe of Egipte. 10 Sixe yeares shalt thou sowe thy londe, and gather in the frute therof: 11 In the seuenth yeare shalt thou let it rest and lye still, that the poore amonge thy people maye eate therof: and loke what remayneth ouer, let ye beestes of the felde eate it. Thus shalt thou do also with thy vynyarde and olyue trees. 12 Sixe dayes shalt thou do thy worke, but vpon the seuenth daye thou shalt kepe holy daye, that thine oxe and Asse maye rest, and that the sonne of thy handmayden and the straunger maye refresh them selues. 13 All that I haue sayde vnto you, that kepe. And as for the names of other goddes, ye shall not remembre them, and out of youre mouthes shal they not be herde. 14 Thre tymes in the yeare 15 shalt thou kepe feast vnto me: namely the feast of vnleuended bred shalt thou kepe, that thou eate vnleuended bred seuen dayes ( like as I commaunded ye) in the tyme of ye moneth Abib, for in the same wentest thou out of Egipte. (But appeare not emptye before me.) 16 And ye feast whan thou first reapest thy labours, yt thou hast sowen vpon the felde. And the feast of ingatherynge in the ende of ye yeare, whan thou hast gathered in thy laboures out of the felde. 17 Thre tymes in the yeare shal euery male that thou hast, appeare before the LORDE the Gouernoure. 18 Thou shalt not offre the bloude of my sacrifice with sowre dowe, and the fat of my feast shal not remayne till the mornynge. 19 The first of the first frutes of thy felde shalt thou brynge in to the house of the LORDE thy God. And shalt not seeth a kydd, whyle it is in his mothers mylke. 20 Beholde, I sende an angell before the, to kepe the in the waye, and to brynge the vnto the place, that I haue prepared. 21 Therfore bewarre of his face, and herken vnto his voyce, and anger him not, for he shall not spare youre mysdedes, & my name is in him. 22 But yf thou shalt herken vnto his voyce, and do all that I shal tell the, then wyl I be enemie vnto thy enemyes, and aduersary vnto thy aduersaries. 23 Now wha myne angell goeth before the, & bryngeth the vnto ye Amorites, Hethites, Pheresites, Cananites, Heuites & Iebusites, & I shall haue destroyed them: 24 then shalt thou not worshipe their goddes, ner serue them, nether shalt thou do as they do, but shalt ouerthrowe their goddes, & breake the downe. 25 But ye LORDE yor God shal ye serue, so shal he blesse thy bred & thy water, and I wyl remoue all sicknesse from the. 26 There shalbe nothinge baren ner vnfrutefull in thy londe, and I wil fulfill the nombre of thy dayes. 27 I wil sende my feare before the, and sley all the people where thou comest, & will make all thine enemies to turne their backes vpo the. 28 I wyll sende hornettes before ye, and dryue out the Heuytes, Cananites and Hethytes before the. 29 In one yeare wyl I not cast the out before the, yt the londe become not waist, & wylde beastes multiply agaynst ye: 30 By litle & litle wyll I dryue them out before the, tyll thou growe, & haue the londe in possession. 31 And I wil set the borders of thy londe, euen from the reed see vnto ye see of the Philistynes, & from the wyldernes vnto the water. For I wil delyuer the indwellers of the londe in to thine hande, yt thou shalt dryue them out before the. 32 Thou shalt make no couenaunt wt them ner with their goddes, 33 but let the not dwell in thy lande, that they make the not synne ageynst me. For yf thou serue their goddes, it wil surely be thy decaye.