Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil

There are many “thou shalt nots” in the Old Testament, only a few of which made the final cut for the Ten Commandments.

Some of these, such as “Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together” (Deuteronomy 22:10) have limited relevance to the modern world.

But ever since I first read it in Exodus 23:2, I thought this one should have received serious consideration: Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil.

Thoreau once wrote, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” And in the same way, there must be a thousand going along with evil for every active evildoer.