The Feasts of Passover, of Weeks, and of Booths

16 “Observe (A)the month of Abib and [a](B)celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. You shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where the Lord chooses to establish His name. (C)You shall not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in a hurry), so that you will remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt (D)all the days of your life. For seven days no leaven shall be seen with you in your entire territory, and (E)none of the meat which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall be left overnight until the morning. You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your [b]towns which the Lord your God is giving you; but only (F)at the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time that you came out of Egypt. You shall (G)cook and eat it in the place which the Lord your God chooses. In the morning you are to return to your tents. For six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and (H)on the seventh day there shall be (I)a festive assembly to the Lord your God; you shall do no work on it.

(J)You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall [c]celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a [d]voluntary offering of your hand in a proportional amount, which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you; 11 and you shall (K)rejoice before the Lord your God, you, your son and your daughter, and your male and female slaves, and (L)the Levite who is in your [e]town, and (M)the stranger, the [f]orphan, and the widow who are in your midst, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. 12 (N)You shall also remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful and [g]comply with these statutes.

13 (O)You shall [h]celebrate the Feast of [i]Booths for seven days when you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat; 14 and you shall (P)rejoice in your feast, you, your son and your daughter, and your male and female slaves, and the Levite, the stranger, the [j]orphan, and the widow who are in your [k]towns. 15 For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.

16 (Q)Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths; and (R)they are not to appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Everyone [l]shall give as he is able, in accordance with the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 16:1 Lit perform
  2. Deuteronomy 16:5 Lit gates
  3. Deuteronomy 16:10 Lit perform
  4. Deuteronomy 16:10 Or freewill offering
  5. Deuteronomy 16:11 Lit gates
  6. Deuteronomy 16:11 Or fatherless
  7. Deuteronomy 16:12 Lit perform these
  8. Deuteronomy 16:13 Lit perform
  9. Deuteronomy 16:13 Or Tabernacles
  10. Deuteronomy 16:14 Or fatherless
  11. Deuteronomy 16:14 Lit gates
  12. Deuteronomy 16:17 Lit according to the gift of his hand

16 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.

Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there.

Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.

And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.

Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee:

But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.

And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.

Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.

Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.

10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:

11 And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there.

12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.

13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:

14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.

15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty:

17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.

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16 “Always remember to celebrate the Passover during the month of April,[a] for that was when Jehovah your God brought you out of Egypt by night. Your Passover sacrifice shall be either a lamb or an ox, sacrificed to the Lord your God at his sanctuary. Eat the sacrifice with unleavened bread. Eat unleavened bread for seven days as a reminder of the bread you ate as you escaped from Egypt. This is to remind you that you left Egypt in such a hurry that there was no time for the bread to rise.[b] Remember that day all the rest of your lives! For seven days no trace of yeast shall be in your homes, and none of the Passover lamb shall be left until the next morning.

“The Passover is not to be eaten in your homes. It must be eaten at the place the Lord shall choose as his sanctuary. Sacrifice it there on the anniversary evening just as the sun goes down. Roast the lamb and eat it, then start back to your homes the next morning. For the following six days you shall eat no bread made with yeast. On the seventh day there shall be a quiet gathering of the people of each city before the Lord your God. Don’t do any work that day.

“Seven weeks after the harvest begins, 10 there shall be another festival before the Lord your God called the Festival of Weeks. At that time bring to him a freewill offering proportionate in size to his blessing upon you as judged by the amount of your harvest. 11 It is a time to rejoice before the Lord with your family and household. And don’t forget to include the local Levites, foreigners, widows, and orphans. Invite them to accompany you to the celebration at the sanctuary. 12 Remember! You were a slave in Egypt, so be sure to carry out this command.

13 “Another celebration, the Festival of Shelters, must be observed for seven days at the end of the harvest season, after the grain is threshed and the grapes have been pressed. 14 This will be a happy time of rejoicing together with your family and servants. And don’t forget to include the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows of your town.

15 “This feast will be held at the sanctuary, which will be located at the place the Lord will designate. It is a time of deep thanksgiving to the Lord for blessing you with a good harvest and in so many other ways; it shall be a time of great joy.

16 “Every man in Israel shall appear before the Lord your God three times a year at the sanctuary for these festivals:

The Festival of Unleavened Bread,

The Festival of Weeks,

The Festival of Shelters.

“On each of these occasions bring a gift to the Lord. 17 Give as you are able, according as the Lord has blessed you.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 16:1 the month of April, literally, “Abib”—the first month of the Hebrew calendar.
  2. Deuteronomy 16:3 you left Egypt in such a hurry that there was no time for the bread to rise, literally, “for you left Egypt in hurried flight.”