Exodus 23 – NIV & NEN

New International Version

Exodus 23:1-33

Laws of Justice and Mercy

1“Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness.

2“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3and do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit.

4“If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to return it. 5If you see the donkey 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 to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.

8“Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the innocent.

9“Do not oppress a foreigner; 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, 11but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. 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, 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.

13“Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

The Three Annual Festivals

14“Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

15“Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

16“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.

“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

17“Three times 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.

“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.

19“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

God’s Angel to Prepare the Way

20“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. 21Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. 22If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. 23My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. 24Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. 25Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, 26and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.

27“I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run. 28I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, 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 too numerous for you. 30Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

31“I will establish your borders from the Red Sea23:31 Or the Sea of Reeds to the Mediterranean Sea,23:31 Hebrew to the Sea of the Philistines and from the desert to the Euphrates River. I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out before you. 32Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. 33Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”

Kiswahili Contemporary Version (Neno: Bibilia Takatifu)

Kutoka 23:1-33

Sheria Za Haki Na Rehema

123:1 Mwa 36:7; Mt 19:18; Lk 3:14; Kut 20:16; Kum 5:20; 19:16-21; Za 27:12; 35:11; Mit 19:5; Mdo 6:11“Usieneze habari za uongo. Usimsaidie mtu mwovu kwa kuwa shahidi mwenye nia ya kudhuru wengine.

223:2 Law 19:15, 33; Kum 1:17; 27:19; 1Sam 8:3; Kum 24:17; 16:19; Ay 31:34“Usifuate umati wa watu katika kutenda mabaya. Unapotoa ushahidi kwenye mashtaka, usipotoshe haki ukijumuika na umati wa watu, 323:3 Rum 12:20; Law 6:2-3; 19:11; Kum 22:1-2nawe usimpendelee mtu maskini katika mashtaka yake.

4“Kama ukikutana na maksai au punda wa adui yako anapotea, hakikisha umemrudisha kwake. 523:5 Kum 22:4Ukiona punda wa mtu anayekuchukia ameanguka na mzigo wake, usimwache hapo alipoangukia; hakikisha kuwa umemsaidia.

623:6 Kum 23:16; Mit 22:22“Usiwanyime haki watu wako walio maskini katika mashtaka yao. 723:7 Kut 20:16; Efe 4:24-25; Mt 27:4; Mwa 18:23; Kut 34:7; Kum 19:18; 25:1Ujiepushe na mashtaka ya uongo, wala usimuue mtu asiye na hatia au mtu mwaminifu, kwa maana sitamhesabia hana hatia yeye aliye na hatia.

823:8 Kut 18:21; Law 9:15; Kum 10:17; 27:25; Ay 15:34; 36:18; Za 26:10; Mit 6:35; 15:27; 17:8; Isa 1:23; 5:23; Mik 3:11; 7:3“Usipokee rushwa, kwa kuwa rushwa hupofusha wale waonao, na kupinda maneno ya wenye haki.

923:9 Kut 22:21; Law 19:33-34; Eze 22:7“Usimwonee mgeni; ninyi wenyewe mnajua jinsi mgeni anavyojisikia, kwa sababu mlikuwa wageni Misri.

Sheria Za Sabato

10“Kwa muda wa miaka sita mtapanda mashamba yenu na kuvuna mazao, 1123:11 Law 25:1-7; Neh 10:31lakini katika mwaka wa saba usiilime ardhi wala kuitumia, ili watu walio maskini miongoni mwenu waweze kupata chakula kutoka kwenye hayo mashamba, nao wanyama pori wapate chakula kwa yale mabaki watakayobakiza. Utafanya hivyo katika shamba lako la mizabibu na la mizeituni.

1223:12 Kut 20:9; Lk 13:14; Mwa 2:2-3“Kwa siku sita fanya kazi zako, lakini siku ya saba usifanye kazi, ili maksai wako na punda wako wapate kupumzika, naye mtumwa aliyezaliwa nyumbani mwako, pamoja na mgeni, wapate kustarehe.

1323:13 Kum 4:9, 23; 1Tim 4:16; Kum 12:3; Yos 23:7; Za 16:4; Zek 13:2; Kum 18:20; Hos 2:17“Uzingatie kutenda kila kitu nilichokuambia. Usiombe kwa majina ya miungu mingine, wala usiyaruhusu kusikika kinywani mwako.

Sikukuu Tatu Za Mwaka

(Kutoka 34:18-26; Kumbukumbu 16:1-17)

1423:14 Kut 12:14; 34:23-24; Kum 16:16; 1Fal 9:25; 2Nya 8:13; Eze 46:9“Mara tatu kwa mwaka utanifanyia sikukuu.

1523:15 Kut 12:17; Mt 26:17; Lk 22:1; Mdo 12:3; Kut 12:2; 22:29“Utaadhimisha Sikukuu ya Mikate Isiyotiwa Chachu; kwa siku saba utakula mikate isiyotiwa chachu kama nilivyokuagiza. Fanya jambo hili kwa wakati uliopangwa katika mwezi wa Abibu, ndio mwezi wa nne, kwa sababu katika mwezi huo ulitoka Misri.

“Mtu yeyote asije mbele yangu mikono mitupu.

1623:16 Law 23:15-21; Hes 28:26; Kum 16:9; 2Nya 8:13; Kut 22:29; 34:22; Law 23:34, 42; Kum 16:16; 31:10; Ezr 3:4; Neh 8:14; Zek 14:16; Yer 40:10; Kum 16:13“Utaadhimisha Sikukuu ya Mavuno kwa malimbuko ya mazao yako uliyopanda katika shamba lako.

“Utaadhimisha Sikukuu ya Kukusanya mavuno mwishoni mwa mwaka, unapokusanya mavuno yako toka shambani.

17“Mara tatu kwa mwaka wanaume wote watakuja mbele za Bwana Mwenyezi.

1823:18 Kut 34:25; Law 2:11; Kut 12:8“Msitoe damu ya dhabihu kwangu pamoja na kitu chochote kilicho na chachu.

“Mafuta ya mnyama wa sadaka ya sikukuu yangu yasibakizwe mpaka asubuhi.

19“Utaleta malimbuko bora ya ardhi yako katika nyumba ya Bwana Mungu wako.

“Usimchemshe mwana-mbuzi katika maziwa ya mama yake.

Malaika Wa Mungu Kuandaa Njia

2023:20 Mwa 16:7; Kut 15:17; 32:34“Tazama, ninamtuma malaika akutangulie mbele yako akulinde njiani na kukuleta mpaka mahali nilipoandaa. 2123:21 Kum 18:19; Yer 13:15; Kum 29:20; 2Fal 24:4; Mao 1:17; Hes 17:10; Kum 9:7; 31:27; Yos 24:19; Za 25:7; 78:8, 40; 106:33; 107; 11; 1Yn 5:16; Kut 3:15Mtamtii na kusikiliza kile anachokisema. Usiasi dhidi yake; hatakusamehe uasi wako, kwa maana Jina langu limo ndani yake. 2223:22 Kut 15:26; Mwa 12:3; Isa 41:11; Yer 30:20Kama ukitii kweli kweli kile asemacho na kufanya yote nisemayo, nitakuwa adui wa adui zako, na nitawapinga wale wakupingao. 2323:23 Hes 13:29; 21:21; Yos 3:10; 24:8-10; 24:8-11; Ezr 9:1Malaika wangu atatangulia mbele yako na kukuleta katika nchi ya Waamori, Wahiti, Waperizi, Wakanaani, Wahivi na Wayebusi, nami nitawafutilia mbali. 2423:24 Kut 20:5; Law 18:3; 20:23; Kum 9:4; 12:30-31; Yer 10:2; Kut 34:13; Hes 33:52; Kum 7:5; 12:3; Amu 2:2; 2Fal 18:4; 23:14; Kum 16:22; 1Fal 14:23; 3:2; 10:26; 17:20; 2Nya 14:2-3; Isa 27:9Usiisujudie miungu yao, au kuiabudu, wala kufuata desturi yao. Utayabomoa kabisa na kuvunjavunja mawe yao ya ibada vipande vipande. 2523:25 Mt 4:10; Law 26:3-13; Kum 7:12-15; 28:1-14; Kut 15:26Utamwabudu Bwana Mungu wako, na baraka zake zitakuwa juu ya vyakula vyako na maji yako. Nami nitaondoa maradhi miongoni mwako, 2623:26 Law 26:3-4; Kum 7:14; 28:4; Mal 3:11; Mwa 15:15; Kum 4:1, 40; 21:12na hakuna atakayeharibu mimba wala atakayekuwa tasa katika nchi yako. Nami nitakupa maisha makamilifu.

2723:27 Mwa 35:5; Kut 15:14; 14:24; Kum 7:23; 2Sam 22:41; Za 18:40; 21:12“Nitapeleka utisho wangu mbele yako na kufadhaisha kila taifa utakalolifikia. Nitafanya adui zako wote wakupe kisogo na kukimbia. 2823:28 Kum 7:20; Yos 24:12; Kut 33:2; 34:11, 24; Hes 13:29; Kum 4:38; 11:23; 18:12; Yos 3:10; 24:11; Za 78:55Nitatanguliza manyigu mbele yako kuwafukuza Wahivi, Wakanaani na Wahiti waondoke njiani mwako. 2923:29 Kum 7:22Lakini sitawafukuza kwa mara moja, kwa sababu nchi itabaki ukiwa na wanyama pori watakuwa wengi mno kwako. 3023:30 Yos 23:5Nitawafukuza kidogo kidogo mbele yako, mpaka uwe umeongezeka kiasi cha kutosha kuimiliki nchi.

3123:31 Mwa 2:14; Kum 34:2; Ezr 4:20; Kum 7:24; 9:3; Yos 21:44; 24:12-18; Za 80:8“Nitaweka mipaka ya nchi yako kuanzia Bahari ya Shamu hadi Bahari ya Wafilisti, na kuanzia jangwani hadi Mto Frati. Nitawatia watu wanaoishi katika nchi hizo mikononi mwako, nawe utawafukuza watoke mbele yako. 3223:32 Mwa 26:28; Kut 34:12; Kum 7:2; Yos 9:7; Amu 2:2; 1Sam 11:1; 1Fal 15:19; 20:34; Eze 17:13Usifanye agano lolote nao wala na miungu yao. 3323:33 Kut 10:7; Za 106:36Usiwaache waishi katika nchi yako, la sivyo watakusababisha utende dhambi dhidi yangu, kwa sababu ibada ya miungu yao hakika itakuwa mtego kwako.”