Discovery BoxExodus 23:2 
Context23:2 “You must not follow a crowd 1 in doing evil things; 2 in a lawsuit you must not offer testimony that agrees with a crowd so as to pervert justice, 3
Exodus 23:8-9
Context23:8 “You must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see 4 and subverts the words of the righteous.
23:9 “You must not oppress 5 a foreigner, since you know the life 6 of a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.
1 tn The word רָבִּים (rabbim), here rendered “crowd,” is also used infrequently to refer to the “mighty,” people of importance in society (Job 35:9; cf. Lev 19:15).
2 tn For any individual to join a group that is bent on acting wickedly would be a violation of the Law and would incur personal responsibility.
3 tn Heb “you will not answer in a lawsuit to turn after the crowd to turn.” The form translated “agrees with” (Heb “to turn after”) is a Qal infinitive construct from נָטָה (natah); the same root is used at the end of the verse but as a Hiphil infinitive construct, “to pervert [justice].”
4 tn Heb “blinds the open-eyed.”
5 tn The verb means “to crush.” S. R. Driver notes that in this context this would probably mean with an unfair judgment in the courts (Exodus, 239).
6 tn Heb “soul, life” – “you know what it feels like.”
