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.

18 “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your [m]towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 (S)You shall not distort justice, (T)you shall not [n]show partiality; and (U)you shall not accept a bribe, because a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and distorts the words of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that (V)you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

21 (W)You shall not plant for yourself an [o]Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the Lord your God, which you shall make for yourself. 22 And (X)you shall not set up for yourself a memorial stone, which the Lord your God hates.

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
  13. Deuteronomy 16:18 Lit gates
  14. Deuteronomy 16:19 Lit recognize faces
  15. Deuteronomy 16:21 I.e., wooden symbol of a female deity

The Festival of Passover

16 “Observe the month of Abib[a](A) and celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, because the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib. Sacrifice to Yahweh your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the Lord chooses to have His name dwell.(B) You must not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of hardship—because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning. You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns the Lord your God is giving you. You must only sacrifice the Passover animal at the place where Yahweh your God chooses to have His name dwell. Do this in the evening as the sun sets at the same time of day you departed from Egypt. You are to cook and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses, and you are to return to your tents in the morning. You must eat unleavened bread for six days. On the seventh day there is to be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God, and you must not do any work.

The Festival of Weeks

“You are to count seven weeks, counting the weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.(C) 10 You are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the Lord your God has blessed you. 11 Rejoice(D) before Yahweh your God in the place where He chooses to have His name dwell—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow among you. 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully follow these statutes.

The Festival of Booths

13 “You are to celebrate the Festival of Booths for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress.(E) 14 Rejoice during your festival—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates. 15 You are to hold a seven-day festival for the Lord your God in the place He chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands,(F) and you will have abundant joy.

16 “All your males are to appear three times a year(G) before the Lord your God in the place He chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths. No one is to appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you.

Appointing Judges and Officials

18 “Appoint judges and officials for your tribes in all your towns the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 Do not deny justice or show partiality to anyone. Do not accept a bribe, for it blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. 20 Pursue justice and justice alone, so that you will live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.(H)

Forbidden Worship

21 “Do not set up an Asherah of any kind of wood next to the altar you will build for the Lord your God, 22 and do not set up a sacred pillar; the Lord your God hates them.(I)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 16:1 March–April; called Nisan in the post-exilic period; Neh 2:1; Est 3:7