Exodus 23:1
in Exodus 23“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt not take up a false report: put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
KJV
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
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This verse in Exodus 23
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
These four commands, addressed to the conscience, are illustrations of the ninth commandment, mainly in reference to the giving of evidence in legal causes. Compare 1Ki 21:10; Act 6:11. Exo 23:2 This verse might be more strictly rendered, “Thou shalt not follow the many to evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause so as to incline after the many to pervert justice.” Exo 23:3 Countenance - Rather, show partiality to a man’s cause because he is poor (compare Lev 19:15).
This site's exposition
Thou shalt not raise a false report
on Exodus 23:1-3
The chapter opens inside a courtroom, and the first three rules guard one thing, which is truthful testimony under pressure. Verse 2 forbids following a multitude to do evil, so the pressure named is the weight of numbers rather than the persuasion of a wicked man. Verse 3 refuses partiality toward a poor man and verse 6 refuses it against him, which closes the door from both sides. The Babylonian Talmud takes the clause after many from verse 2 as the ground for a court following its own majority, at tractate Bava Metzia 59b.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Thou shalt not raise, the margin reads, Thou shalt not receive a false report, for sometimes the receiver in this case is as bad as the thief; and a backbiting tongue would not do so much mischief, if it were not countenanced.
Thou shalt not raise a false report,....
This is charity to our neighbour's good name, and doing as we would be done by. The judges are here cautioned not to pervert judgment. (1.) They must not be overruled, either by might or multitude, to go against their consciences in giving judgment,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Thou shalt not raise a false report - Acting contrary to this precept is a sin against the ninth commandment. And the inventor and receiver of false and slanderous reports, are almost equally criminal. The word seems to refer to either, and our translators have very properly retained both senses, putting raise in the text, and receive in the margin. The original לא תשא lo tissa has been translated, thou shalt not publish. Were there no publishers of slander and calumny, there would be no receivers; and were there none to receive them, there would be none to raise them; and were there no raisers, receivers, nor propagators of calumny, lies, etc., society would be in peace.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשָּׂ֖א | tisa' | you must bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| שֵׁ֣מַע | shema' | a report of | H8088 → | |
| שָׁ֑וְא | shav' | falsehood | H7723 → | 53 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תָּ֤שֶׁת | tashet | you put | H7896 → | 83 times |
| יָֽדְךָ֙ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| רָשָׁ֔ע | rasha' | a wicked [person] | H7563 → | 263 times |
| לִהְיֹ֖ת | lihyot | to be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֵ֥ד | ʾed | a witness of | H5707 → | 70 times |
| חָמָֽס׃ ס | chamas | injustice | H2555 → |
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשָּׂ֖אyou must bear
tisa'H5375 →656 times
שֵׁ֣מַעa report of
shema'H8088 →
שָׁ֑וְאfalsehood
shav'H7723 →53 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תָּ֤שֶׁתyou put
tashetH7896 →83 times
יָֽדְךָ֙hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
רָשָׁ֔עa wicked [person]
rasha'H7563 →263 times
לִהְיֹ֖תto be
lihyotH1961 →3559 times
עֵ֥דa witness of
ʾedH5707 →70 times
חָמָֽס׃ סinjustice
chamasH2555 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 20:16You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
it leads to
- Psalms 15:3
who has no slander on his tongue, who does no harm to his neighbor, who casts no scorn on his friend,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 19:5
A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
- Matthew 19:18
“Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,
- Matthew 26:59–60
Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus in order to put Him to death.
- Deuteronomy 19:15–21
A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or…
- Psalms 15:3
Through
Proverbs 19:5A false witness will not go unpunished, and one who utters lies will not escape.
it leads to
- Proverbs 21:28
A lying witness will perish, but the man who listens to truth will speak forever.
- Proverbs 6:19
a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers.
- Proverbs 21:28
Through
Psalms 101:5Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, I will put to silence; the one with haughty eyes and a proud heart, I will not endure.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:27
For You save an afflicted people, but You humble those with haughty eyes.
- Psalms 18:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.