Feasts of the Lord

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be (A)holy convocations, these are My feasts.

The Sabbath

(B)‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.

The Passover and Unleavened Bread(C)

(D)‘These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. (E)On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. (F)On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no [a]customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’ ”

The Feast of Firstfruits

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: (G)‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of (H)the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall (I)wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord, for a [b]sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Feast of Weeks(J)

15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count (K)fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer (L)a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are (M)the firstfruits to the Lord. 18 And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 19 Then you shall sacrifice (N)one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a (O)peace offering. 20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. (P)They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21 And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.

22 (Q)‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.’ ”

The Feast of Trumpets(R)

23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the (S)seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, (T)a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’ ”

The Day of Atonement(U)

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 (V)“Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, (W)to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For any person who is not (X)afflicted in soul on that same day (Y)shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, (Z)that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall [c]afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall [d]celebrate your sabbath.”

The Feast of Tabernacles(AA)

33 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: (AB)‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 For seven days you shall offer an (AC)offering made by fire to the Lord. (AD)On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a (AE)sacred[e] assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.

37 (AF)‘These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day— 38 (AG)besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord.

39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have (AH)gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 And (AI)you shall take for yourselves on the first day the [f]fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; (AJ)and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 (AK)You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 (AL)You shall dwell in [g]booths for seven days. (AM)All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 (AN)that your generations may (AO)know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when (AP)I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’ ”

44 So Moses (AQ)declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.

Care of the Tabernacle Lamps(AR)

24 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: (AS)“Command the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually. Outside the veil of the Testimony, in the tabernacle of meeting, Aaron shall be in charge of it from evening until morning before the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever in your generations. He shall [h]be in charge of the lamps on (AT)the pure gold lampstand before the Lord continually.

The Bread of the Tabernacle

“And you shall take fine flour and bake twelve (AU)cakes with it. Two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. You shall set them in two rows, six in a row, (AV)on the pure gold table before the Lord. And you shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be on the bread for a (AW)memorial, an offering made by fire to the Lord. (AX)Every Sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And (AY)it shall be for Aaron and his sons, (AZ)and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the offerings of the Lord made by fire, by a perpetual statute.”

The Penalty for Blasphemy

10 Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this Israelite woman’s son and a man of Israel fought each other in the camp. 11 And the Israelite woman’s son (BA)blasphemed the name of the Lord and (BB)cursed; and so they (BC)brought him to Moses. (His mother’s name was Shelomith the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.) 12 Then they (BD)put him [i]in custody, (BE)that [j]the mind of the Lord might be shown to them.

13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 14 “Take outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him (BF)lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

15 “Then you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Whoever curses his God (BG)shall [k]bear his sin. 16 And whoever (BH)blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born in the land. When he blasphemes the name of the Lord, he shall be put to death.

17 (BI)‘Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. 18 (BJ)Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal.

19 ‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as (BK)he has done, so shall it be done to him— 20 fracture for (BL)fracture, (BM)eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 And whoever kills an animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. 22 You shall have (BN)the[l] same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for I am the Lord your God.’ ”

23 Then Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they took outside the camp him who had cursed, and stoned him with stones. So the children of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 23:7 occupational
  2. Leviticus 23:13 pleasing
  3. Leviticus 23:32 humble yourselves
  4. Leviticus 23:32 observe your sabbath
  5. Leviticus 23:36 solemn
  6. Leviticus 23:40 foliage
  7. Leviticus 23:42 tabernacles; shelters made of boughs
  8. Leviticus 24:4 arrange or set in order
  9. Leviticus 24:12 under guard
  10. Leviticus 24:12 Lit. it might be declared to them from the mouth of the Lord
  11. Leviticus 24:15 be responsible for
  12. Leviticus 24:22 one standard of judgment

The Appointed Festivals

23 The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals,(A) the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.(B)

The Sabbath

“‘There are six days when you may work,(C) but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest,(D) a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work;(E) wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread(F)

“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:(G) The Lord’s Passover(H) begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.(I) On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread(J) begins; for seven days(K) you must eat bread made without yeast. On the first day hold a sacred assembly(L) and do no regular work. For seven days present a food offering to the Lord.(M) And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’”

Offering the Firstfruits

The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you(N) and you reap its harvest,(O) bring to the priest a sheaf(P) of the first grain you harvest.(Q) 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord(R) so it will be accepted(S) on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old(T) without defect,(U) 13 together with its grain offering(V) of two-tenths of an ephah[a](W) of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering(X) of a quarter of a hin[b] of wine.(Y) 14 You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain,(Z) until the very day you bring this offering to your God.(AA) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,(AB) wherever you live.(AC)

The Festival of Weeks(AD)

15 “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath,(AE) and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah(AF) of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits(AG) to the Lord. 18 Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings(AH)—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 19 Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering[c] and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,(AI) together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. 21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly(AJ) and do no regular work.(AK) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

22 “‘When you reap the harvest(AL) of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(AM) Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.(AN) I am the Lord your God.’”

The Festival of Trumpets(AO)

23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly(AP) commemorated with trumpet blasts.(AQ) 25 Do no regular work,(AR) but present a food offering to the Lord.(AS)’”

The Day of Atonement(AT)

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month(AU) is the Day of Atonement.(AV) Hold a sacred assembly(AW) and deny yourselves,[d] and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work(AX) on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. 29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.(AY) 30 I will destroy from among their people(AZ) anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance(BA) for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a day of sabbath rest(BB) for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”(BC)

The Festival of Tabernacles(BD)

33 The Lord said to Moses, 34 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh(BE) month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles(BF) begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly;(BG) do no regular work.(BH) 36 For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly(BI) and present a food offering to the Lord.(BJ) It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

37 (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings(BK) required for each day. 38 These offerings(BL) are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths(BM) and[e] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings(BN) you give to the Lord.)

39 “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival(BO) to the Lord for seven days;(BP) the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. 40 On the first day you are to take branches(BQ) from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees(BR)—and rejoice(BS) before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in temporary shelters(BT) for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know(BU) that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

44 So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.

Olive Oil and Bread Set Before the Lord(BV)

24 The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually. Outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord from evening till morning, continually. This is to be a lasting ordinance(BW) for the generations to come. The lamps on the pure gold lampstand(BX) before the Lord must be tended continually.

“Take the finest flour and bake twelve loaves of bread,(BY) using two-tenths of an ephah[f](BZ) for each loaf. Arrange them in two stacks, six in each stack, on the table of pure gold(CA) before the Lord. By each stack put some pure incense(CB) as a memorial[g] portion(CC) to represent the bread and to be a food offering presented to the Lord. This bread is to be set out before the Lord regularly,(CD) Sabbath after Sabbath,(CE) on behalf of the Israelites, as a lasting covenant. It belongs to Aaron and his sons,(CF) who are to eat it in the sanctuary area,(CG) because it is a most holy(CH) part of their perpetual share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”

A Blasphemer Put to Death

10 Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. 11 The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name(CI) with a curse;(CJ) so they brought him to Moses.(CK) (His mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.)(CL) 12 They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.(CM)

13 Then the Lord said to Moses: 14 “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.(CN) 15 Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God(CO) will be held responsible;(CP) 16 anyone who blasphemes(CQ) the name of the Lord is to be put to death.(CR) The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.

17 “‘Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.(CS) 18 Anyone who takes the life of someone’s animal must make restitution(CT)—life for life. 19 Anyone who injures their neighbor is to be injured in the same manner: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.(CU) The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury. 21 Whoever kills an animal must make restitution,(CV) but whoever kills a human being is to be put to death.(CW) 22 You are to have the same law for the foreigner(CX) and the native-born.(CY) I am the Lord your God.’”

23 Then Moses spoke to the Israelites, and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him.(CZ) The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 23:13 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms; also in verse 17
  2. Leviticus 23:13 That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter
  3. Leviticus 23:19 Or purification offering
  4. Leviticus 23:27 Or and fast; similarly in verses 29 and 32
  5. Leviticus 23:38 Or These festivals are in addition to the Lord’s Sabbaths, and these offerings are
  6. Leviticus 24:5 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms
  7. Leviticus 24:7 Or representative