Keep far from a false charge is literally “You [singular] be far from a word [davar] of falsehood.” This probably refers to “false accusations” (Good News Translation), but since davar can mean either “word” or “thing,” New American Bible has “anything dishonest,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “fraud.” Translator’s Old Testament even has “legal corruption,” which is possible but probably too general. The most likely interpretation is “false charges” or “false accusations.” The speaker of the false charge is not specified, but it is probably the one who is being addressed. So Good News Translation has “Do not make false accusations,” and translators are advised to follow this interpretation. In some languages it will be necessary to identify the one who is accused; for example, “Don’t make false accusations against any person.”

And do not slay the innocent and righteous is literally “and the innocent and the righteous you [singular] will not kill.” The word for slay is used in 2.14. It is a very general word for killing and does not suggest how the killing should take place. It may be understood as “do not put … to death” (Good News Translation), “do not cause the death” (Revised English Bible), or even: “Don’t … sentence an innocent person to death” (Contemporary English Version). The word for innocent carries the idea of being free from guilt. The word for righteous is similar in meaning, but it has the more positive meaning of “honest” (New International Version), “just” (New American Bible), and “upright” (New Jerusalem Bible). A righteous person was one who lived according to the standards of the community and in good relations with his neighbors. Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version consider the phrase innocent and righteous to refer to the same person, and translate as “innocent person.” However, if translators have suitable terms for innocent and “upright,” one may say “Don’t sentence an innocent and upright person to death.”

For I will not acquit the wicked, literally “for I will not cause to be righteous the guilty,” uses the causative form of the word for righteous. The wicked may be understood as anyone who is “guilty” (New Revised Standard Version) or a “wrongdoer” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but it may also refer back to anyone who would, as Good News Translation expresses it, “put an innocent person to death.” Good News Translation renders the final clause positively: “for I will condemn anyone who does such an evil thing.” A few translations follow the Septuagint here by changing the I to “you”; for example, New American Bible has “nor shall you acquit the guilty” (similarly New Jerusalem Bible and Translator’s Old Testament). It is better, however, to stay with the Hebrew text. Another model for this final sentence is “I will not forgive anyone who….”

An alternative translation model for verses 6-7 combined is:

• When judges [or, chiefs] decide the cases of poor people, you must make sure that they judge fairly. They must not sentence an innocent and upright person to death. If they do such an evil thing, I will not forgive them.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .