The Festival of Shelters

(Numbers 29.12-40)

^33 (A) The Lord told Moses ³⁴ to say to the community of Israel:

Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,^[a] and continuing for seven days, everyone must celebrate the Festival of Shelters in honor of me. ³⁵ No one is to do any work on the first day of the festival—it is a time when everyone must come together for worship. ³⁶ For seven days, sacrifices must be offered on the altar. The eighth day is also to be a day of complete rest, as well as a time of offering sacrifices on the altar and of coming together for worship.

³⁹ Remember to begin the Festival of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the seventh month after you have harvested your crops. Celebrate this festival for seven days in honor of me and don't do any work on the first day or on the day following the festival. ⁴⁰ Pick the best fruit from your trees^[a] and cut leafy branches to use during the time of this joyous celebration in my honor. ⁴¹ I command you and all of your descendants to celebrate this festival during the seventh month of each year. ⁴² For seven days every Israelite must live in a shelter, ⁴³ so future generations will know that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

The Sacrifices during the Festival of Shelters

(Leviticus 23.33-44)

The Lord said:

^12 (A) Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month^[a] and continuing for seven days, everyone must celebrate the Festival of Shelters in honor of me.

¹³ On the first day, you must rest from your work and come together for worship. Bring to the altar 13 bulls, 2 full-grown rams, and 14 rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me.^{[b] 14} Three kilograms of your finest flour mixed with olive oil must be offered with each bull as a grain sacrifice. Two kilograms of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the rams, ¹⁵ and one kilogram of flour mixed with oil must be offered with each of the young rams. ¹⁶ You must also offer a goat^[c] as a sacrifice for sin. These are to be offered in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.^[d]

^17-34 For the next six days of the festival, you will sacrifice one less bull than the day before, so that on the seventh day, seven bulls will be sacrificed. The other sacrifices and offerings must remain the same for each of these days.

³⁵ On the eighth day, you must once again rest from your work and come together for worship. ³⁶ Bring to the altar one bull, one full-grown ram, and seven rams a year old that have nothing wrong with them. Then offer these as sacrifices to please me. ³⁷ You must also offer the proper grain sacrifices and drink offerings of wine with each animal. ³⁸ And offer a goat^[e] as the sacrifice to ask forgiveness for the people. These sacrifices are made in addition to the regular daily sacrifices.^[f]