The Three Annual Festivals

14 “Three times(A) a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.

15 “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread;(B) for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv,(C) for in that month you came out of Egypt.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.(D)

16 “Celebrate the Festival of Harvest(E) with the firstfruits(F) of the crops you sow in your field.

“Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering(G) at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.(H)

17 “Three times(I) a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.

18 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.(J)

“The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.(K)

19 “Bring the best of the firstfruits(L) of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(M)

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Three Annual Festivals

14 “Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor. 15 First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib,[a] for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may appear before me without an offering.

16 “Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest,[b] when you bring me the first crops of your harvest.

“Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest[c] at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields. 17 At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord.

18 “You must not offer the blood of my sacrificial offerings together with any baked goods containing yeast. And do not leave the fat from the festival offerings until the next morning.

19 “As you harvest your crops, bring the very best of the first harvest to the house of the Lord your God.

“You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.

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Footnotes

  1. 23:15 Hebrew appointed time in the month of Abib. This first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of March and April.
  2. 23:16a Or Festival of Weeks. This was later called the Festival of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1). It is celebrated today as Shavuot (or Shabuoth).
  3. 23:16b Or Festival of Ingathering. This was later called the Festival of Shelters or Festival of Tabernacles (see Lev 23:33-36). It is celebrated today as Sukkot (or Succoth).