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Deuteronomy 16
New International Version
Deuteronomy 16
New International Version
The Passover(A)
16 Observe the month of Aviv(B) and celebrate the Passover(C) of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name.(D) 3 Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction,(E) because you left Egypt in haste(F)—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.(G) 4 Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening(H) of the first day remain until morning.(I)
5 You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you 6 except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary[a](J) of your departure from Egypt. 7 Roast(K) it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. 8 For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly(L) to the Lord your God and do no work.(M)
The Festival of Weeks(N)
9 Count off seven weeks(O) from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.(P) 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks to the Lord your God by giving a freewill offering in proportion to the blessings the Lord your God has given you. 11 And rejoice(Q) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name(R)—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites(S) in your towns, and the foreigners,(T) the fatherless and the widows living among you.(U) 12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt,(V) and follow carefully these decrees.
The Festival of Tabernacles(W)
13 Celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor(X) and your winepress.(Y) 14 Be joyful(Z) at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns. 15 For seven days celebrate the festival to the Lord your God at the place the Lord will choose. For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy(AA) will be complete.
16 Three times a year all your men must appear(AB) before the Lord your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread,(AC) the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles.(AD) No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed:(AE) 17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.
Judges
18 Appoint judges(AF) and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly.(AG) 19 Do not pervert justice(AH) or show partiality.(AI) Do not accept a bribe,(AJ) for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the innocent. 20 Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Worshiping Other Gods
21 Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole(AK) beside the altar you build to the Lord your God,(AL) 22 and do not erect a sacred stone,(AM) for these the Lord your God hates.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 16:6 Or down, at the time of day
Deuteronomy 16
Evangelical Heritage Version
Deuteronomy 16
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Festivals
The Passover
16 Observe the month of Abib[a] and keep the Passover for the Lord your God, because it was in the month of Abib that the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt at night.
2 As a Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, slaughter an animal from the flock or herd at the place where the Lord will choose to establish his name. 3 Do not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you went out of the land of Egypt in a hurry. Do this so that you may remember the day that you went out from the land of Egypt for all the days of your life.
4 No yeast or leaven is to be found among you for seven days, and none of the meat that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day is to be left until morning.
5 You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover inside the gates of any of the cities that the Lord your God is giving you. 6 Rather, it is at the place where the Lord your God will choose to establish his name that you are to sacrifice the Passover, in the evening at the setting of the sun, the time of day that you went out of Egypt.
7 Cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose. In the morning return to your tents.
8 Six days you are to eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there is to be a special convocation to the Lord your God. Do not do any regular work.
The Festival of Weeks
9 Count off seven weeks. As the starting point of the seven weeks, mark the time that the sickle first strikes the standing grain.
10 Then observe the Festival of Weeks[b] for the Lord your God and give a voluntary offering of as much as you can afford, in keeping with how much the Lord has blessed you.
11 Rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within the gates of your city, and the alien and the fatherless and the widow who are among you. Do this in the place where the Lord your God will choose to establish his name.
12 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, so you are to be careful to carry out these statutes.
The Festival of Shelters
13 After you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress, celebrate the Festival of Shelters[c] for seven days.
14 Rejoice in your festival, you and your son and your daughter, and your male servant and your female servant, and the alien and the orphan and the widow within your gates.
15 For seven days celebrate to the Lord your God in the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all of your crops and in all the work of your hands, and you will most certainly be joyful.
16 Three times a year all of your males are to present themselves 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 Shelters. They are not to present themselves before the Lord empty-handed, 17 but each person is to have in his hand a gift that is in keeping with the blessing that the Lord your God has given you.
Judges
18 Appoint judges and officers for your tribes to serve at the gates of all the cities that the Lord your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
19 Do not distort justice. Do not show partiality. Do not take a bribe, because a bribe blinds the eyes of wise people and twists the actions of righteous people.
20 Justice! You are to pursue justice, so that you may live and possess the land that the Lord your God is giving you!
The Penalty for Idolatry
21 Do not set up any kind of wooden Asherah pole beside the altar of the Lord your God that you have made for yourself. 22 Do not set up for yourself a sacred memorial stone, which is something that the Lord your God hates.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 16:1 Abib corresponds to March/April. It was the month the grain harvest began.
- Deuteronomy 16:10 Also called Pentecost or Reaping
- Deuteronomy 16:13 Also called Tabernacles or Ingathering
Deuteronomy 16
Easy-to-Read Version
Deuteronomy 16
Easy-to-Read Version
Passover
16 “Remember, in the month of Abib you must celebrate Passover to honor the Lord your God. It was that night in Abib when the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt. 2 You must go to the place the Lord your God will choose to be the home for his name. There you must offer the Passover sacrifice to honor the Lord. You must offer the cattle and goats. 3 Don’t eat bread that has yeast in it with this sacrifice. You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. This bread is called ‘Bread of Trouble.’ It will help you remember the troubles you had in Egypt. Remember how quickly you had to leave that country. You must remember that day as long as you live. 4 There must be no yeast in anyone’s house anywhere in the country for seven days. And all the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day must be eaten before morning.
5 “You must not sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns that the Lord your God gives you. 6 You must sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place that the Lord your God will choose to be the home for his name. There you must sacrifice the Passover animal in the evening when the sun goes down. This is the festival when you remember that God brought you out of Egypt. 7 You must cook the meal and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. The next morning you may go back home. 8 You must eat unleavened bread six days. On the seventh day you must not do any work. On this day the people will come together for a special meeting to honor the Lord your God.
Festival of Harvest
9 “You must count seven weeks from the time you begin to harvest the grain. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest for the Lord your God. Do this by bringing him some special gift you want to bring. Decide how much to give by thinking about how much the Lord your God has blessed you. 11 Go to the place the Lord will choose to be the home for his name. You and your people should enjoy yourselves together there with the Lord your God. Take all your people with you—your sons, your daughters, and all your servants. And take the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows living in your towns. 12 Remember, you were slaves in Egypt. So be sure to obey these laws.
Festival of Shelters
13 “Seven days after you have gathered your harvest in from your threshing floor and from your winepress, you should celebrate the Festival of Shelters. 14 Enjoy yourselves at this festival—you, your sons, your daughters, all your servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows living in your towns. 15 Celebrate this festival for seven days at the special place the Lord will choose. Do this to honor the Lord your God. The Lord your God blessed your harvest and all the work you did, so be very happy!
16 “Three times a year all your men must come to meet with the Lord your God at the special place he will choose. They must come for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. Everyone who comes to meet with the Lord must bring a gift. 17 Each man should give as much as he can. He should decide how much to give by thinking about how much the Lord has given him.
Judges and Officers for the People
18 “Choose men to be judges and officers in every town that the Lord your God gives you. Every tribe must do this. And these men must be fair in judging the people. 19 You must always be fair. You must not favor some people over other people. You must not take money to change your mind in judgment. Money blinds the eyes of wise people and changes what a good person will say. 20 Goodness and Fairness! You must try very hard to be good and fair all the time. Then you will live and keep the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
God Hates Idols
21 “When you set up an altar for the Lord your God, you must not place beside the altar any of the wooden poles that honor the goddess Asherah. 22 You must not set up special stones for worshiping false gods. The Lord your God hates them.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International