Exodus 23:2 “You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a la…”

Exodus 23:2

You shall not follow the crowd in wrongdoing. When you testify in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.

Berean Standard Bible

Other translations

King James Version

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

World English Bible

“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice.

American Standard Version

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to wrest justice:

Geneva Bible 1599

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do euil, neither agree in a controuersie to decline after many and ouerthrowe the trueth.

Darby Translation

Thou shalt not follow the multitude for evil; neither shalt thou answer in a cause, to go after the multitude to pervert [judgment].

Young's Literal Translation

'Thou art not after many to evil, nor dost thou testify concerning a strife, to turn aside after many to cause [others] to turn aside;

Bible in Basic English

Do not be moved to do wrong by the general opinion, or give the support of your words to a wrong decision:

.mt-body { max-height: none !important; -webkit-mask-image: none !important; mask-image: none !important; } .mt-bar { display: none !important; } .o-trans::after { display: block !important; }

Cross references

“follow”

Proverbs 1:15 Job 31:34 Matthew 27:24–26 1 Kings 19:10 Exodus 32:1–5 Numbers 14:1–10

Proverbs 1:15 · BSB

my son, do not walk the road with them or set foot upon their path.

Job 31:34 · BSB

because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside—

Matthew 27:24–26 · BSB

When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood, ” he said. “You bear the responsibilit…

1 Kings 19:10 · BSB

“I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are…

Exodus 32:1–5 · BSB

Now when the people saw that Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us up out of the land of Egyp…

Numbers 14:1–10 · BSB

Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept.

“to decline”

Deuteronomy 1:17 Leviticus 19:15 Psalm 72:2 Jeremiah 37:15 Jeremiah 37:21 Jeremiah 38:9

Deuteronomy 1:17 · BSB

Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”

Leviticus 19:15 · BSB

You must not pervert justice; you must not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the rich; you are to judge your neighbor fairly.

Psalm 72:2 · BSB

May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted with justice.

Jeremiah 37:15 · BSB

The officials were angry with Jeremiah, and they beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.

Jeremiah 37:21 · BSB

So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the co…

Jeremiah 38:9 · BSB

“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there is no more bread in the city.”

Also

Deuteronomy 24:17 Deuteronomy 16:19

Deuteronomy 24:17 · BSB

Do not deny justice to the foreigner or the fatherless, and do not take a widow’s cloak as security.

Deuteronomy 16:19 · BSB

Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

Cross references adapted from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0) and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

In context

1“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.

3And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.

Read Exodus 23