Keluaran 23:4-5

23:4 “If you encounter ¹  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ²  it to him. 23:5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, ³  but be sure to help ⁴  him with it. ⁵ 

Keluaran 23:1

Justice

23:1 ⁶ “You must not give ⁷  a false report. ⁸  Do not make common cause ⁹  with the wicked ¹⁰  to be a malicious ¹¹  witness.

1 Samuel 24:16-19

24:16 When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” Then Saul wept loudly. ¹²  24:17 He said to David, “You are more innocent ¹³  than I, for you have treated me well, even though I have tried to harm you! 24:18 You have explained today how you have treated me well. The Lord delivered me into your hand, but you did not kill me. 24:19 Now if a man finds his enemy, does he send him on his way in good shape? May the Lord repay you with good this day for what you have done to me.

1 Samuel 26:21

26:21 Saul replied, “I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won’t harm you, for you treated my life with value ¹⁴  this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!” ¹⁵ 

Amsal 25:21-22

25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

25:22 for you will heap coals of fire on his head, ¹⁶ 

and the Lord will reward you. ¹⁷ 

Matius 5:44

5:44 But I say to you, love your enemy and ¹⁸  pray for those who persecute you,

[23:4]  ¹ tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[23:4]  ² tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[23:5]  ³ tn The line reads “you will cease to forsake him” – refrain from leaving your enemy without help.

[23:5]  ⁴ tn The law is emphatic here as well, using the infinitive absolute and the imperfect of instruction (or possibly obligation). There is also a wordplay here: two words עָזַב (’azav) are used, one meaning “forsake” and the other possibly meaning “arrange” based on Arabic and Ugaritic evidence (see U. Cassuto, Exodus, 297-98).

[23:5]  ⁵ sn See H. B. Huffmon, “Exodus 23:4-5: A Comparative Study,” A Light Unto My Path, 271-78.

[23:1]  ⁶ sn People who claim to worship and serve the righteous judge of the universe must preserve equity and justice in their dealings with others. These verses teach that God’s people must be honest witnesses (1-3); God’s people must be righteous even with enemies (4-5); and God’s people must be fair in dispensing justice (6-9).

[23:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “take up, lift, carry” (נָשָׂא, nasa’). This verb was also used in the prohibition against taking “the name of Yahweh in vain.” Sometimes the object of this verb is physical, as in Jonah 1:12 and 15. Used in this prohibition involving speech, it covers both originating and repeating a lie.

[23:1]  ⁸ tn Or “a groundless report” (see Exod 20:7 for the word שָׁוְא, shav’).

[23:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not put your hand” (cf. KJV, ASV); NASB “join your hand.”

[23:1]  ¹⁰ tn The word “wicked” (רָשָׁע, rasha’) refers to the guilty criminal, the person who is doing something wrong. In the religious setting it describes the person who is not a member of the covenant and may be involved in all kinds of sin, even though there is the appearance of moral and spiritual stability.

[23:1]  ¹¹ tn The word חָמָס (khamas) often means “violence” in the sense of social injustices done to other people, usually the poor and needy. A “malicious” witness would do great harm to others. See J. W. McKay, “Exodus 23:1-43, 6-8: A Decalogue for Administration of Justice in the City Gate,” VT 21 (1971): 311-25.

[24:16]  ¹² tn Heb “lifted his voice and wept.”

[24:17]  ¹³ tn Or “righteous” (so KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “you are in the right”; NLT “are a better man than I am.”

[26:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “my life was valuable in your eyes.”

[26:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and I have erred very greatly.”

[25:22]  ¹⁶ sn The imagery of the “burning coals” represents pangs of conscience, more readily effected by kindness than by violence. These coals produce the sharp pain of contrition through regret (e.g., 18:19; 20:22; 24:17; Gen 42-45; 1 Sam 24:18-20; Rom 12:20). The coals then would be an implied comparison with a searing conscience.

[25:22]  ¹⁷ sn The second consequence of treating enemies with kindness is that the Lord will reward the act. The fact that this is promised shows that the instruction here belongs to the religious traditions of Israel.

[5:44]  ¹⁸ tc Most mss ([D] L [W] Θ Ë¹³ 33 Ï lat) read “bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you,” before “those who persecute you.” But this is surely a motivated reading, importing the longer form of this aphorism from Luke 6:27-28. The shorter text is found in א B ˹ pc sa, as well as several fathers and versional witnesses.