Stay far away from a false accusation. Do not kill the innocent or the just, for I will not acquit the guilty.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and righteous: for I will not justify the wicked.
- KJV Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
- NKJV Keep yourself far from a false matter; do not kill the innocent and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked.
- NASB Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
- NLT “Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Keep far from false charges and never kill the innocent, for God will not acquit the wicked. God Himself guarantees that injustice will not stand.
Overview
This solemn command warns against condemning the innocent and assures that God will hold the guilty accountable even if human courts fail. It places all justice under the watchful eye of the righteous Judge. The God who will not justify the wicked nonetheless justifies the guilty who trust in Christ, who bore their condemnation (Romans 4:5).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Eph 4:25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another.
- Exod 23:1“You shall not spread a false report. Do not join the wicked by being a malicious witness.
- Deut 27:25‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- Exod 34:7maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
- Rom 1:18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
- Lev 19:11You must not steal. You must not lie or deceive one another.
- 1 Th 5:22Abstain from every form of evil.
- Deut 19:16–21If a false witness testifies against someone, accusing him of a crime,
- Nah 1:3The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
- Exod 20:13You shall not murder.
- Prov 4:14–15Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.
- Job 22:23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. If you remove injustice from your tents
- Prov 17:15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous—both are detestable to the LORD.
- Luke 3:14Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” “Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”
- Isa 33:15He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—
- Rom 2:5–6But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 23:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.