Leviticus 23:23-44

GOD’S WORD Translation

The Fall Festivals

²³The Lord spoke to Moses, ²⁴“Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month hold a worship festival. It will be a memorial day, a holy assembly announced by the blowing of rams’ horns. ²⁵Don’t do any regular work. Bring a sacrifice by fire to the Lord.”

²⁶The Lord spoke to Moses, ²⁷“In addition, the tenth day of this seventh month is a special day for the payment for sins. There will be a holy assembly. Humble yourselves, and bring the Lord a sacrifice by fire. ²⁸Don’t do any work that day. It is a special day for the payment for sins. It is a time when you make peace with the Lord your God. ²⁹Those who do not humble themselves on that day will be excluded from the people. ³⁰I will kill those who do any work on that day. ³¹Don’t do any work. It is a permanent law for generations to come wherever you live. ³²It is a day of rest, a day when you don’t work. Humble yourselves starting on the evening of the ninth day of the month. From that evening to the next, observe the day of rest as a holy day.”

³³The Lord spoke to Moses, ³⁴“Tell the Israelites: The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Booths to the Lord. It will last seven days. ³⁵On the first day there will be a holy assembly. Don’t do any regular work. ³⁶For seven consecutive days bring a sacrifice by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day there will be a holy assembly. Bring the Lord a sacrifice by fire. This is the last festival of the year. Don’t do any regular work.

³⁷“These are the Lord’s appointed festivals. Announce them as holy assemblies for bringing sacrifices by fire to the Lord. Bring burnt offerings, grain offerings, other sacrifices, and wine offerings—each one on its special day. ³⁸These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s holy days of rest, as well as your gifts, all your vows, and your freewill offerings to the Lord.

³⁹“However, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered what the land produces, celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. The first and the eighth days will be worship festivals. ⁴⁰On the first day take the best fruits, palm branches, the branches of leafy trees and poplars, and celebrate in the presence of the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹It is the Lord’s festival. Celebrate it for seven days each year. This is a permanent law for generations to come. Celebrate this festival in the seventh month. ⁴²Live in booths for seven days. Everyone born in Israel must live in booths ⁴³so that generations to come may learn how I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”