Covenant Laws IV: Corruption, Poverty, Three Festivals, God’s Promises: The book of the covenant concludes with laws that establish judicial integrity (vv. 1–9); Sabbath laws that protect the poor and beasts of burden (vv. 10–13); and the institution of three yearly festivals (vv. 14–19). Then the text returns to the narrative of God’s promises to Moses (vv. 20–33). The alternating pattern of social justice legislation with laws about the people’s relation to God continues.

23:1–9  This first set of laws seeks to establish the integrity of witnesses and judges in the face of corruption or hate. These juridical procedural laws require extreme impartiality. Five imperative commands open the sequence (vv. 1–3; see also Lev. 19:15–18). Two illustrative cases (vv. 4–5) follow, and five more impe…