Exodus 23:1

Summary

Exodus 23:1 contains two parallel prohibitions: the first forbids accepting or spreading a false report, and the second forbids joining with a wicked person to serve as a witness of injustice. Both halves use negated verb forms addressed to an individual ("you," masculine singular).

Key words

• tiSa' ("you must bear", H5375N) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular; paired with lo' ("not", H3808) it expresses a general, ongoing prohibition against "bearing" or "carrying" a report.
• Shema' ("a report of", H8088B) — masculine singular noun in construct state, meaning it must be joined to the following word to form the phrase "a report of falsehood."
• Shav' ("falsehood", H7723G) — masculine singular noun completing the construct chain begun by Shema', specifying the content of the report as empty or false.
• Tashet ("you put", H7896H) — qal jussive, second person masculine singular; paired with 'al ("may not", H0408) it expresses a more direct, immediate prohibition ("do not put") distinct from the ongoing sense of tiSa'.
• 'ed ("a witness of", H5707) — masculine singular noun in construct state, linked to chamas ("injustice", H2555) to form "a witness of injustice/violence."

What the text says

The verse is built from two grammatically distinct negative commands. The first uses lo' with an imperfect verb (tiSa'), a construction typically used for general or durative prohibitions — "you shall not [habitually] bear a report of falsehood." The second uses 'al with a jussive verb (Tashet), a construction associated with a more immediate or situational command — "do not [now] put your hand with a wicked person." This shift in negation and verbal form marks a structural change between the two clauses, even though both are translated as simple prohibitions in English.

The phrase yadekha ("your hand", H3027G + H9021, construct with pronominal suffix) combined with 'im-rasha' ("with a wicked [person]", H5973A + H7563) is idiomatic: "putting the hand with" someone denotes joining or allying with that person, not a literal physical action. The final clause, introduced by the infinitive lihyot ("to be", H1961), states the purpose of that alliance: "to be a witness of chamas" — a noun (H2555) denoting violence, injustice, or wrongdoing, here modifying "witness" to describe the kind of testimony being prohibited.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the second clause's final noun as ádikos ("unjust"), describing the witness himself as unjust, while the Hebrew chamas ("injustice", H2555) modifies the type of testimony given (construct: "witness of injustice") rather than directly labeling the witness. The Vulgate's falsum testimonium ("false testimony") likewise shifts the sense from the Hebrew's "witness of violence/injustice" to "false witness," aligning more with the vocabulary of the first clause (Shav', "falsehood") than with the distinct term chamas used in the second.