²² You must not take advantage of any widow or orphan. ²³ If you do oppress them and they cry out to Me, I will certainly hear them, ²⁴ and My wrath will be kindled. I will make sure you are slaughtered by your enemy’s sword, and your own wives and children will become widows and orphans.

²⁵ If you loan money to any of the poor among My people, do not treat them as borrowers and act as their creditors by charging interest. ²⁶ If your neighbor gives his coat to you as collateral, then be sure to give it back before night falls—even if he has not repaid you in full. ²⁷ You see that coat covers his body and may be his only protection against the cold. What do you think he would sleep in? When he calls out for Me, I will hear his cry. I am kind and compassionate as you should be when a fellow Israelite is in need.

Eternal One: Do not pass along a false report. Do not plot with evil people to give a false witness.

² Even if the majority of people are doing evil, do not follow them. Also when you are called to give testimony in a dispute, do not let the crowd pressure you into perverting justice. ³ In the same way, do not side with the poor in a complaint just because he is poor.

⁴ If you are walking along and come across your enemy’s ox or donkey that has wandered away, then you must return it to its owner. ⁵ If you see the donkey of someone you know who hates you and it has fallen beneath its load, you must not leave it there. You must stop and help the donkey recover the load.

⁶ Do not deny justice to the poor among you in their disputes. ⁷ Stay far away from false accusations, and do not condemn the innocent or righteous to death. Understand this: I will not acquit those who commit such miscarriages of justice.

⁸ Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe can blind those who see and twist the words of those who are in the right. ⁹ Do not oppress an outsider. You know well what it is like to be an outsider living in a foreign land, for you were strangers once in the land of Egypt.

¹⁰ You have six years to plant your fields and harvest your crops. ¹¹ When the seventh year arrives, let your land rest and lie fallow. Let the poor and hungry among you come and harvest the volunteer crops that spring up in your fields. Whatever is left over, the beasts may eat. Do the same thing with your vineyards and your olive groves. ¹² You have six days to work. When the seventh day arrives, stop all work so that your ox and donkey can rest. When you observe the Sabbath Day, your female slave’s son and any outsider serving you have a chance to catch their breath and relax.

¹³ Be careful to do all that I have instructed you. Do not even acknowledge the names of other gods or let their names spill from your lips.

¹⁴ I want you to celebrate a feast in My honor three times a year. ¹⁵ First, celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I instructed you before, you are to eat only bread made without yeast for the seven feast days beginning at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for that is when you fled out of Egypt. During this time, no one is to come before Me without some offering. ¹⁶ Second, celebrate the Feast of Harvest in the spring when you bring to Me the first and best of the wheat crop you planted in the field. Third, celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the harvest season when you gather your crops from the fields, orchards, and groves. ¹⁷ All of your men must come before the Eternal your Lord, these three times a year.