Exodus 23:7

Summary

Exodus 23:7 issues three related instructions: to keep away from false speech, not to kill the innocent or righteous, and states that the speaker (YHWH) will not declare the wicked person righteous. The verse combines a general ethical prohibition with a legal-judicial principle about false accusation and wrongful execution.

Key words

• devar ("a word of", H1697G) — construct form linking directly to sheker, producing the phrase "a word of falsehood," i.e., a false report or accusation, rather than lying in general.
• tirchak ("you will be distant", H7368) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular; expresses an ongoing or habitual stance of distancing oneself, not a single act.
• taharog ("you kill", H2026) — qal jussive, preceded by the negation 'al (H0408); jussive with 'al forms a direct prohibition ("do not kill"), distinct from the imperfect used with lo'.
• atzdiq ("I will declare righteous", H2026... actually H6663) — hiphil imperfect, first person singular; the hiphil (causative) stem means "cause to be declared righteous / acquit," not simply "be righteous."
• rasha' ("a wicked [person]", H7563) — masculine singular noun, the direct object of atzdiq, naming the category of person who will not be acquitted.

What the text says

The verse is built in three clauses. The first, midevar-sheker tirchak, uses a construct chain (devar + sheker) to specify the object of avoidance as "a word of falsehood" — likely a false testimony or accusation in a legal context — paired with the qal imperfect tirchak, suggesting a continuous posture of avoidance rather than a one-time act.

The second clause names two categories of person, naqi ("innocent") and tzadiq ("righteous"), both masculine singular adjectives functioning as nouns, followed by the prohibition al-taharog. The particle 'al with the jussive form taharog creates a direct volitional prohibition, grammatically distinct from a simple future negation.

The third clause, introduced by ki ("for"), gives the grounds for the prohibition: lo-atzdiq rasha, "I will not declare/cause to be righteous a wicked person." The verb atzdiq is hiphil, a causative stem: it does not say the speaker will not "be righteous" but that the speaker will not "cause [the wicked] to be declared righteous," i.e., will not acquit. The first-person form makes this a direct statement by the speaking voice (YHWH in context) rather than a general observation.

Differences between versions

The LXX adds the phrase ἕνεκεν δώρων ("because of gifts/bribes") at the end of the verse, specifying a reason for unjust acquittal that has no corresponding word in the Hebrew text (which ends simply with rasha', "wicked person").

The Vulgate renders the final clause as quia aversor impium ("for I turn away from/detest the wicked"), which shifts the sense from the Hebrew's judicial-declarative atzdiq ("I will not declare righteous / acquit") to a statement of aversion or rejection, a different verbal action than the Hebrew hiphil conveys.