Exodus 23:4-12

EasyEnglish Bible

⁴ Perhaps you may find your enemy's cow or his donkey when he has lost it. If so, you must give it back to him. ⁵ Perhaps you may see your enemy's donkey when it is carrying a heavy load. If the donkey has fallen down, do not refuse to give help. Do not leave the donkey there.

⁶ Always do what is right for your poor people when they stand in front of a judge. ⁷ Do not help anyone to use lies to accuse another person. Never punish anyone with death if they are not guilty. I will never say that a wicked person is not guilty.

⁸ Do not accept a bribe. A bribe will hide the truth even from honest people. It can make good people tell lies.

⁹ Do not be cruel to a foreign person who lives among you. You yourselves know what that feels like. Remember that you lived in Egypt as foreigners.

Rules about the Sabbath day and Feasts

¹⁰ You must plant seed in your fields for six years. Then you can bring your crops home at harvest time. ¹¹ But in the seventh year, you must let your fields lie empty. Do not dig them and do not plant anything in them. Then poor people among you can eat the food that they find in your fields. After that, the wild animals can eat any food that still remains. Do the same thing with your vineyards and your fields of olive trees.

¹² Do your work for six days each week, but do not work on the seventh day. Then your oxen and your donkeys will have time to rest. Any slave who was born in your home and any foreigner who works for you may also have time to rest. That will help them to be strong.