Leviticus 23:1-25:17

New International Reader's Version

The Appointed Feast Days

23 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘Here are my appointed feast days. They are the appointed feast days of the Lord. Tell the people that they must come together for these sacred assemblies.

The Sabbath Day

³ “ ‘There are six days when you can work. But the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest. You must rest on it. Come together on that sacred day. You must not do any work on it. No matter where you live, it is a Sabbath day to honor the Lord.

Passover and Unleavened Bread

⁴ “ ‘Here are the Lord’s appointed feasts. Tell the people that they must come together for these sacred gatherings at their appointed times. ⁵ The Lord’s Passover begins when the sun goes down on the 14th day of the first month. ⁶ The Lord’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th day of that month. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. ⁷ On the first day you must come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work on that day. ⁸ On each of the seven days bring a food offering to the Lord. On the seventh day come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work on that day.’ ”

The First Share of Israel’s Crops Belongs to the Lord

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰ “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you, bring an offering to the Lord. Gather your crops. Bring the first bundle of grain to the priest. ¹¹ He must lift up the grain and wave it in front of the Lord. Then the Lord will accept it from you. The priest must wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹² On the day he waves the grain for you, you must sacrifice a burnt offering to me. It must be a lamb that does not have any flaws. It must be a year old. ¹³ You must bring it together with its grain offering. The grain offering must be seven pounds of the finest flour. Mix it with olive oil. It is a food offering presented to the Lord. It has a pleasant smell. You must offer a drink offering along with the burnt offering. It must be a quart of wine. ¹⁴ You must not eat any bread until the day you bring your offering to the Lord your God. You must not eat any cooked grain or any of your first grain until that time. This is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live.

The Feast of Weeks

¹⁵ “ ‘The day you brought the grain for the wave offering was the day after the Sabbath. Count off seven full weeks from that day. ¹⁶ Count off 50 days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath. On that day bring to the Lord an offering of your first grain. ¹⁷ Bring two loaves of bread that are made with seven pounds of the finest flour. They must be baked with yeast. Bring them to me as a wave offering from the first share of your crops. That applies no matter where you live. ¹⁸ Together with the bread, bring seven male lambs. Each lamb must be a year old. It must not have any flaws. Also bring one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord. They will be offered together with their grain offerings and drink offerings. They are food offerings. Their smell pleases the Lord. ¹⁹ Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering. Also sacrifice two lambs for a friendship offering. Each of the lambs must be a year old. ²⁰ The priest must lift up the two lambs and wave them in front of me as a wave offering. He must offer them together with the bread made out of the first share of your crops. They are a sacred offering to the Lord. They will be given to the priest. ²¹ On that same day tell the people that they must come together for a special worship service. They must not do any regular work. That is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live.

²² “ ‘Suppose you are gathering your crops. Then do not harvest all the way to the edges of your field. And do not pick up the grain you missed. Leave some for the poor people and the outsiders who live among you. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

The Feast of Trumpets

²³ The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴ “Say to the Israelites, ‘On the first day of the seventh month you must have a day of sabbath rest. It must be a special service announced with trumpet blasts. ²⁵ Do not do any regular work on that day. Instead, bring a food offering to the Lord.’ ”

The Day When Sin Is Paid For

²⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²⁷ “The tenth day of the seventh month is the day when sin is paid for. Come together for a special service. Do not eat any food. Bring a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸ Do not do any work on that day. It is the day when sin is paid for. On that day your sin will be paid for in my sight. I am the Lord your God. ²⁹ Suppose you do eat food on that day. Then you will be separated from your people. ³⁰ I will destroy anyone among your people who does any work on that day. ³¹ You must not do any work at all. This is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live. ³² That day is a day of sabbath rest for you. You must rest on it. You must not eat anything on that day. You must follow the rules of the sabbath rest. Follow them from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”

The Feast of Booths

³³ The Lord said to Moses, ³⁴ “Say to the Israelites, ‘On the 15th day of the seventh month the Lord’s Feast of Booths begins. It lasts for seven days. ³⁵ On the first day you must come together for a special service. Do not do any regular work on that day. ³⁶ On each of the seven days bring a food offering to the Lord. On the eighth day come together for a special service. Bring a food offering to the Lord. That special service is the closing service. Do not do any regular work on that day.

³⁷ “ ‘These are the Lord’s appointed feasts. Tell the people that they must come together for these sacred assemblies. During those times, the people must bring food offerings to the Lord. They are burnt offerings and grain offerings. They are sacrifices and drink offerings. Each offering must be brought at its required time. ³⁸ The offerings are in addition to those of the days of sabbath rest. The offerings are also in addition to your gifts and anything you have promised. They are also in addition to all the offerings you choose to give to the Lord.

³⁹ “ ‘Begin with the 15th day of the seventh month. That is after you have gathered your crops. On that day celebrate the Lord’s Feast of Booths for seven days. The first day is a day of rest. The eighth day is also a day of rest. ⁴⁰ On the first day you must get branches from palms, willows and other leafy trees. You must be filled with joy in front of the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹ Celebrate the Lord’s Feast of Booths for seven days each year. This is a law that will last for all time to come. Celebrate the feast in the seventh month. ⁴² Live in booths for seven days. All the Israelites must live in booths. ⁴³ Then your children after you will know that I made the Israelites live in booths. I made them do it after I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

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

Olive Oil, Bread and Incense

24 The Lord said to Moses, ² “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil made from pressed olives. Use it to keep the lamps burning and giving light all the time. ³ Aaron must take care of the lamps in front of the Lord from evening until morning all the time. This is a law that will last for all time to come. The lamps are outside the curtain in front of the tablets of the covenant law in the tent of meeting. ⁴ The lamps are on the pure gold lampstand in front of the Lord. They must be taken care of all the time.

⁵ “Get the finest flour and bake 12 loaves of bread. Use seven pounds of flour for each loaf. ⁶ Arrange them in two stacks. Put six loaves in each stack on the table made out of pure gold. The table stands in front of the Lord. ⁷ By each stack put some pure incense. It will remind you that all good things come from the Lord. Burn the incense in place of the bread. The incense is a food offering presented to the Lord. ⁸ The bread must be set out in front of the Lord regularly. Do it every Sabbath day. It will be Israel’s duty to provide it for all time to come. ⁹ The bread belongs to Aaron and his sons. They must eat it in the holy area. It is a very holy part of their regular share of the food offerings presented to the Lord.”

A Person Who Speaks Evil Is Put to Death

¹⁰ There was a man who had an Israelite mother. His father was born in Egypt. The man went out among the Israelites. A fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite. ¹¹ The son of the Israelite woman spoke evil things against the Lord by using a curse. So the people brought him to Moses. The name of the man’s mother was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Dibri. Dibri was from the tribe of Dan. ¹² The people kept her son under guard until they could find out what the Lord wanted them to do.

¹³ Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹⁴ “Get the man who spoke evil things against the Lord. Take him outside the camp. All those who heard him say those things must place their hands on his head. Then the whole community must kill him by throwing stones at him. ¹⁵ Say to the Israelites, ‘Anyone who curses me will be held accountable. ¹⁶ Anyone who speaks evil things against my Name must be put to death. The whole community must kill them by throwing stones at them. It does not matter whether they are an outsider or an Israelite. When they speak evil things against my Name, they must be put to death.

¹⁷ “ ‘Anyone who kills another human being must be put to death. ¹⁸ Anyone who kills someone’s animal must pay its owner. A life must be taken for a life. ¹⁹ Suppose someone hurts their neighbor. Then what they have done must be done to them. ²⁰ A bone must be broken for a bone. An eye must be put out for an eye. A tooth must be knocked out for a tooth. The one who has hurt his neighbor must be hurt in the same way. ²¹ Whoever kills an animal must pay its owner. But if they kill a human being, they must be put to death. ²² The same law applies whether they are an outsider or an Israelite. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

²³ Then Moses spoke to the Israelites. They got the man who had spoken evil things against the Lord. They took him outside the camp. There they killed him by throwing stones at him. The Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

The Sabbath Year

25 The Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai. He said, ² “Speak to the Israelites. Tell them, ‘You will enter the land I am going to give you. When you do, you must honor the Lord every seventh year by not farming the land that year. ³ For six years plant your fields. Trim the branches in your vineyards and gather your crops. ⁴ But the seventh year must be a year of sabbath rest for the land. The land must rest during it. It is a sabbath year to honor the Lord. Do not plant your fields. Do not trim the branches in your vineyards. ⁵ Do not gather what grows without being planted. And do not gather the grapes from the vines you have not taken care of. The land must have a year of rest. ⁶ Anything the land produces during the sabbath year will be food for you. It will be for you and your male and female servants. Your hired workers will eat it. So will people who live with you for a while. ⁷ And so will your livestock and the wild animals that are in your land. Anything the land produces can be eaten.

The Year of Jubilee

⁸ “ ‘Count off seven sabbath years. Count off seven times seven years. The seven sabbath years add up to a total of 49 years. ⁹ The tenth day of the seventh month is the day when sin is paid for. On that day blow the trumpet all through your land. ¹⁰ Set the 50th year apart. Announce freedom all over the land to everyone who lives there. The 50th year will be a Year of Jubilee for you. Each of you must return to your own family property. And each of you must return to your own tribe. ¹¹ The 50th year will be a Year of Jubilee for you. Do not plant anything. Do not gather what grows without being planted. And do not gather the grapes from the vines you have not taken care of. ¹² It is a Year of Jubilee. It will be holy for you. Eat only what the fields produce.

¹³ “ ‘In the Year of Jubilee all of you must return to your own property.

¹⁴ “ ‘Suppose you sell land to any of your own people. Or you buy land from them. Then do not take advantage of each other. ¹⁵ The price you pay must be based on the number of years since the last Year of Jubilee. Here is how the price you charge must be decided. It must be based on the number of years left for gathering crops before the next Year of Jubilee. ¹⁶ When there are many years left, you must raise the price. When there are only a few years left, you must lower the price. That is because what is really being sold to you is the number of crops the land will produce. ¹⁷ Do not take advantage of each other. Instead, have respect for your God. I am the Lord your God.