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The Passover Reviewed

16 “Observe the month[a] of Abib by keeping the Passover to the Lord your God, for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night.(A) You shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God from the flock and the herd, at the place that the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his name.(B) You must not eat with it anything leavened. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it—the bread of affliction—because you came out of the land of Egypt in great haste, so that all the days of your life you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt.(C) No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, and none of the meat of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall remain until morning.(D) You are not permitted to offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you. But at the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name, only there shall you offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, the time of day when you departed from Egypt.(E) You shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose; the next morning you may go back to your tents.(F) For six days you shall continue to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly for the Lord your God, when you shall do no work.(G)

The Festival of Weeks Reviewed

“You shall count seven weeks; begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain.(H) 10 Then you shall keep the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God, contributing a freewill offering in proportion to the blessing that you have received from the Lord your God. 11 Rejoice before the Lord your God—you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female slaves, the Levites resident in your towns, as well as the strangers, the orphans, and the widows who are among you—at the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.(I) 12 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and diligently observe these statutes.(J)

The Festival of Booths Reviewed

13 “You shall keep the Festival of Booths[b] for seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress.(K) 14 Rejoice during your festival, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female slaves, as well as the Levites, the strangers, the orphans, and the widows resident in your towns.(L) 15 Seven days you shall keep the festival to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, for the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all your undertakings, and you shall surely celebrate.(M)

16 “Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, at the Festival of Weeks, and at the Festival of Booths.[c] They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed;(N) 17 all shall give as they are able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.

Municipal Judges and Officers

18 “You shall appoint judges and officials throughout your tribes, in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall render just decisions for the people.(O) 19 You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right.(P) 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Forbidden Forms of Worship

21 “You shall not plant any tree as a sacred pole[d] beside the altar that you make for the Lord your God,(Q) 22 nor shall you set up a stone pillar—things that the Lord your God hates.

Footnotes

  1. 16.1 Or new moon
  2. 16.13 Or Tabernacles
  3. 16.16 Or Tabernacles
  4. 16.21 Or Asherah

The Festival of Passover

16 “Set aside the month of Abib[a](A) and observe the Passover to the Lord your God, because the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night in the month of Abib.(B) Sacrifice to the Lord your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the Lord chooses to have his name dwell.(C) Do not eat leavened bread with it.(D) 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(E)—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,(F) and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.(G) You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns the Lord your God is giving you. Sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place where the Lord 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. Eat unleavened bread for six days. On the seventh day there is to be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God; do 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.(H) 10 You are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks(I) to the Lord your God with a freewill offering(J) that you give in proportion to how the Lord your God has blessed you. 11 Rejoice(K) before the Lord 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 city gates, as well as the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow among you. 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt; carefully follow these statutes.

The Festival of Shelters

13 “You are to celebrate the Festival of Shelters(L) for seven days when you have gathered in everything from your threshing floor and winepress.(M) 14 Rejoice during your festival—you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, as well as the Levite, the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow within your city 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,(N) and you will have abundant joy.

16 “All your males are to appear three times a year(O) before the Lord your God in the place he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters. No one is to appear before the Lord empty-handed.(P) 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.(Q) 20 Pursue justice and justice alone, so that you will live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.(R)

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.(S)

Footnotes

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