Deuteronomy 16
International Standard Version
Celebrate the Passover
16 “Observe the month of Abib, keeping the Passover to the Lord your God, because the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt during the night in the month of Abib. 2 Then sacrifice sheep and cattle for the Passover to the Lord your God at the place where the Lord your God will choose to establish his name. 3 You must not eat any yeast with it. Instead, for seven days eat bread without yeast—the bread of affliction—because you left the land of Egypt in haste. Remember the day you went out of the land of Egypt for the rest of your lives. 4 Yeast is not to be seen in any of your territories for seven days. The meat is not to remain from the evening of the first day until morning.
5 “You must not sacrifice the Passover in just any of your cities[a] that the Lord your God is about to give you. 6 Instead, you are to sacrifice the Passover in the evening at dusk—at the time of day you left Egypt—at the place where your God will choose to establish his name. 7 Boil and eat the Passover meal[b] at the place that the Lord your God will choose. In the morning you may go back to your tents. 8 Eat bread without yeast for six days. Then on the seventh day, hold an assembly to the Lord your God. Don’t do any work.”
Celebrate the Festival of Weeks
9 “Count off seven weeks from when the sickle is first put to standing grain. 10 Then observe the Festival of Weeks in the presence of the Lord your God by giving your tribute and the freewill offering of your hands in proportion to the manner in which the Lord your God blessed you. 11 Rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God with your son, daughter, male and female slaves, the descendant of Levi who is in your city,[c] the stranger, the orphan, and the widow among you, at the place where the Lord your God will choose to establish his name. 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, so keep and observe these statutes.”
Celebrate the Festival of Tents
13 “Celebrate the Festival of Tents[d] for seven days after you harvest from your threshing floor and your wine press. 14 Rejoice in your festival—you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the descendants of Levi, and foreigners, orphans, and widows, who live in your cities.[e] 15 For seven days you are to celebrate in the presence of the Lord your God at the place where the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in everything you do, and your joy will be complete.
16 “Every male must appear in the presence of the Lord your God three times a year at the place where he will choose: for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Seven Weeks, and the Festival of Tents.[f] He must not appear in the Lord’s presence empty-handed, 17 but each one must appear[g] with his own gift, proportional to the blessing that the Lord your God has given you.”
Pursue Justice
18 “Appoint judges and civil servants according to your tribes in all your cities[h] that the Lord your God is about to give you, so they may judge the people impartially.[i] 19 You must not twist justice, show favoritism, or take bribes, because a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the speech of the righteous. 20 You are to pursue justice—and only justice—so you may live and possess the land that the Lord your God is about to give you.”
Prohibited Practices
21 “You are not to set up a sacred pole[j] beside the altar of the Lord your God that you will build. 22 Furthermore, you are not to erect for yourselves a sacred stone pillar, because the Lord your God detests these things.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 16:5 Lit. gates
- Deuteronomy 16:7 The Heb. lacks the Passover meal
- Deuteronomy 16:11 Lit. gate
- Deuteronomy 16:13 Or Tents
- Deuteronomy 16:14 Lit. gates
- Deuteronomy 16:16 Or Tents
- Deuteronomy 16:17 The Heb. lacks must appear
- Deuteronomy 16:18 Lit. gates
- Deuteronomy 16:18 Lit. people with righteous judgment
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Lit. Asherah; i.e. a cultic pillar
Deuteronomy 16
Lexham English Bible
16 “Observe the month of Abib, and you shall keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out from Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to Yahweh your God from among your flock and herd at the place that Yahweh will choose, to let his name dwell there. 3 You shall not eat with it[a] anything leavened; seven days you shall eat with it[b] unleavened bread of affliction, because in haste you went out from the land of Egypt, so that you will remember the day of your going out from the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 And leaven shall not be seen with[c] you in any of your territory[d] for seven days, and none of the meat that you will slaughter on the evening on the first day shall remain overnight until morning. 5 You are not allowed to offer the Passover sacrifice in one of your towns[e] that Yahweh your God is giving to you, 6 but only at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there; you shall offer the Passover sacrifice in the evening at sunset,[f] at the designated time[g] of your going out from Egypt. 7 And you shall cook, and you shall eat it at the place that Yahweh your God will choose; and you may turn in the morning and go to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be an assembly for Yahweh your God; you shall not do work.
9 “You shall count off seven weeks for you; from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain[h] you shall begin to count seven weeks. 10 And then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the measure of the freewill offering of your hand that you shall give just as Yahweh your God has blessed you. 11 And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that is in your towns[i] and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there. 12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so you shall diligently observe[j] these rules.
13 “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for yourselves[k] seven days at the gathering in of the produce[l] from your threshing floor and from your press; 14 and you shall rejoice at your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite and the orphan and the widow that are in your towns.[m] 15 Seven days you shall celebrate your feast to Yahweh your God at the place Yahweh will choose, for Yahweh your God shall bless you in all of your produce[n] and in all of the work of your hand, and you shall surely be rejoicing.[o] 16 Three times in the year all of your males shall appear before [p] Yahweh your God at the place that he will choose, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before Yahweh[q] empty-handed. 17 Each person shall give as he is able,[r] that is, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you.
18 “You shall appoint judges and officials for you in all your towns[s] that Yahweh your God is giving to you throughout your tribes, and you shall render for the people righteous judgments.[t] 19 You shall not subvert[u] justice; you shall not show partiality;[v] and you shall not take a bribe, for the bribe makes blind the eyes of the wise and misrepresents the words of the righteous. 20 Justice, only justice[w] you shall pursue, so that you may live, and you shall take possession of the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you. 21 You shall not plant for yourselves[x] an Asherah pole[y] beside the altar of Yahweh your God that you make for yourselves.[z] 22 And you shall not set up for yourselves a stone pillar, a thing that Yahweh your God hates.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 16:3 Literally “in addition to” or “upon it”
- Deuteronomy 16:3 Literally “in addition to” or “upon it”
- Deuteronomy 16:4 Or “for”
- Deuteronomy 16:4 Or “all of” your territory
- Deuteronomy 16:5 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 16:6 Literally “in the evening as the sun goes/sets”
- Deuteronomy 16:6 The Hebrew word here indicates the specific time that God had chosen to bring Israel out of Egypt
- Deuteronomy 16:9 Literally “from the beginning of the sickle against the standing grain”
- Deuteronomy 16:11 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 16:12 Literally “you shall observe and do”
- Deuteronomy 16:13 Hebrew “for you”
- Deuteronomy 16:13 Literally “at your gathering of the produce”
- Deuteronomy 16:14 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 16:15 Or “increase”
- Deuteronomy 16:15 Or “joyful”
- Deuteronomy 16:16 Literally “with the face of”
- Deuteronomy 16:16 Literally “with the face of Yahweh”
- Deuteronomy 16:17 Literally “according to the gift of his hand”
- Deuteronomy 16:18 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 16:18 Literally “a judgment based on righteousness”
- Deuteronomy 16:19 Or “distort/pervert”
- Deuteronomy 16:19 Literally “recognize faces”
- Deuteronomy 16:20 Literally “justice justice”
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Hebrew “for/to you” but with collective meaning
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Literally “an Asherah of any wood/tree”
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Hebrew “for/to you” but with collective meaning
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