| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1“You must not pass along false rumors. You must not cooperate with evil people by lying on the witness stand. | 1“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness. |
| 2“You must not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you are called to testify in a dispute, do not be swayed by the crowd to twist justice. | 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 slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor. | 3And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit. |
| 4“If you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. | 4If you encounter your enemy’s stray ox or donkey, you must return it to him. |
| 5If you see that the donkey of someone who hates you has collapsed under its load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and help. | 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. |
| 6“In a lawsuit, you must not deny justice to the poor. | 6You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits. |
| 7“Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent. | 7Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty. |
| 8“Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe makes even a righteous person twist the truth. | 8Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous. |
| 9“You must not oppress foreigners. You know what it’s like to be a foreigner, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. | 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. |
| 10“Plant and harvest your crops for six years, | 10For six years you are to sow your land and gather its produce, |
| 11but let the land be renewed and lie uncultivated during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its own. Leave the rest for wild animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves. | 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. |
| 12“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working. This gives your ox and your donkey a chance to rest. It also allows your slaves and the foreigners living among you to be refreshed. | 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. |
| 13“Pay close attention to all my instructions. You must not call on the name of any other gods. Do not even speak their names. Three Annual Festivals | 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. |
| 14“Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor. | 14Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me. |
| 15First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib, for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may appear before me without an offering. | 15You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed. |
| 16“Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest, when you bring me the first crops of your harvest. “Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields. | 16You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field. |
| 17At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the LORD. | 17Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD. |
| 18“You must not offer the blood of my sacrificial offerings together with any baked goods containing yeast. And do not leave the fat from the festival offerings until the next morning. | 18You must not offer the blood of My sacrifices with anything leavened, nor may the fat of My feast remain until morning. |
| 19“As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the LORD your God. “You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. A Promise of the LORD’s Presence | 19Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. |
| 20“See, I am sending an angel before you to protect you on your journey and lead you safely to the place I have prepared for you. | 20Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. |
| 21Pay close attention to him, and obey his instructions. Do not rebel against him, for he is my representative, and he will not forgive your rebellion. | 21Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him. |
| 22But if you are careful to obey him, following all my instructions, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and I will oppose those who oppose you. | 22But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. |
| 23For my angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, so you may live there. And I will destroy them completely. | 23For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them. |
| 24You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars. | 24You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces. |
| 25“You must serve only the LORD your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. | 25So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you. |
| 26There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives. | 26No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days. |
| 27“I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run. | 27I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run. |
| 28I will send terror ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites. | 28I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. |
| 29But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you. | 29I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you. |
| 30I will drive them out a little at a time until your population has increased enough to take possession of the land. | 30Little by little I will drive them out ahead of you, until you become fruitful and possess the land. |
| 31And I will fix your boundaries from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the eastern wilderness to the Euphrates River. I will hand over to you the people now living in the land, and you will drive them out ahead of you. | 31And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you will drive them out before you. |
| 32“Make no treaties with them or their gods. | 32You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods. |
| 33They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.” | 33They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.” |
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