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Leviticus 23
Contemporary English Version

Religious Festivals

23 The Lord told Moses 2 to say to the community of Israel:

I have chosen certain times for you to come together and worship me.

3 (A) You have six days when you can do your work, but the seventh day of each week is holy because it belongs to me. No matter where you live, you must rest on the Sabbath and come together for worship. This law will never change.

Passover and the Festival of Thin Bread

(Numbers 28.16-25)

The Lord said:

4-5 (B) Passover is another time when you must come together to worship me, and it must be celebrated on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month[a] of each year.

6 (C) The Festival of Thin Bread begins on the fifteenth day of that same month; it lasts seven days, and during this time you must honor me by eating bread made without yeast. 7 On the first day of this festival you must rest from your work and come together for worship. 8 Each day of this festival you must offer sacrifices. Then on the final day you must once again rest from your work and come together for worship.

Offering the First Part of the Harvest

9 The Lord told Moses 10 to say to the community of Israel:

After you enter the land I am giving you, the first bundle of wheat from each crop must be given to me. So bring it to a priest 11 on the day after the Sabbath. He will lift it up[b] in dedication to me, and I will accept you. 12 You must also offer a sacrifice to please me.[c] So bring the priest a one-year-old lamb that has nothing wrong with it 13 and two kilograms of your finest flour mixed with olive oil. Then he will place these on the bronze altar and send them up in smoke with a smell that pleases me. Together with these, you must bring a liter of wine as a drink offering. 14 I am your God, and I forbid you to eat any new grain or anything made from it until you have brought these offerings. This law will never change.

The Harvest Festival

(Numbers 28.26-31)

The Lord said:

15 (D) Seven weeks after you offer this bundle of grain, each family must bring another offering of new grain. 16 Do this exactly 50 days later, which is the day following the seventh Sabbath. 17 Bring two loaves of bread to be lifted up[d] in dedication to me. Each loaf is to be made with yeast and with two kilograms of the finest flour from the first part of your harvest.

18 At this same time, the entire community of Israel must bring seven lambs that are a year old, a young bull, and two rams. These animals must have nothing wrong with them, and they must be offered as a sacrifice to please me.[e] You must also offer the proper grain and wine sacrifices with each animal.[f] 19 Offer a goat[g] as a sacrifice for sin, and two rams a year old as a sacrifice to ask my blessing.[h] 20 The priest will lift up[i] the rams together with the bread in dedication to me. These offerings are holy and are my gift to the priest. 21 This is a day of celebration and worship, a time of rest from your work. You and your descendants must obey this law.

22 (E) When you harvest your grain, always leave some of it standing around the edges of your fields and don't pick up what falls on the ground. Leave it for the poor and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the Lord your God!

The Festival of Trumpets

(Numbers 29.1-6)

23 The Lord told Moses 24-25 to say to the people of Israel:

The first day of the seventh month[j] must be a day of complete rest. Then at the sound of the trumpets, you will come together to worship and to offer sacrifices on the altar.

The Great Day of Forgiveness

(Numbers 29.7-11)

26 (F) The Lord God said to Moses:

27 The tenth day of the seventh month[k] is the Great Day of Forgiveness.[l] It is a solemn day of worship; everyone must go without eating to show sorrow for their sins, and sacrifices must be burned. 28 No one is to work on that day—it is the Great Day of Forgiveness, when sacrifices will be offered to me, so that I will forgive your sins. 29 I will destroy anyone who refuses to go without eating. 30-31 None of my people are ever to do any work on that day—not now or in the future. And I will wipe out those who do! 32 This is a time of complete rest just like the Sabbath, and everyone must go without eating from the evening of the ninth to the evening of the tenth.

The Festival of Shelters

(Numbers 29.12-40)

33 (G) The Lord told Moses 34 to say to the community of Israel:

Beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month,[m] and continuing for seven days, everyone must celebrate the Festival of Shelters in honor of me. 35 No one is to do any work on the first day of the festival—it is a time when everyone must come together for worship. 36 For seven days, sacrifices must be offered on the altar. The eighth day is also to be a day of complete rest, as well as a time of offering sacrifices on the altar and of coming together for worship.

37 I have chosen these festivals as times when my people must come together for worship and when animals, grain, and wine are to be offered on the proper days. 38 These festivals must be celebrated in addition to the Sabbaths and the times when you offer special gifts or sacrifices to keep a promise or as a voluntary offering.

39 Remember to begin the Festival of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the seventh month after you have harvested your crops. Celebrate this festival for seven days in honor of me and don't do any work on the first day or on the day following the festival. 40 Pick the best fruit from your trees[n] and cut leafy branches to use during the time of this joyous celebration in my honor. 41 I command you and all of your descendants to celebrate this festival during the seventh month of each year. 42 For seven days every Israelite must live in a shelter, 43 so future generations will know that I made their ancestors live in shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

44 This is how Moses instructed the people of Israel to celebrate the Lord's festivals.

Footnotes

  1. 23.4,5 first month: Abib (also called Nisan), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.
  2. 23.11 lift it up: See the note at 7.29,30.
  3. 23.12 sacrifice to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
  4. 23.17 lifted up: See the note at 7.29,30.
  5. 23.18 sacrifice to please me: See the note at 1.1-3.
  6. 23.18 proper grain … animal: See Numbers 15.1-16.
  7. 23.19 goat: See the note at 1.1-3.
  8. 23.19 sacrifice to ask my blessing: See the note at 3.1.
  9. 23.20 lift up: See the note at 7.29,30.
  10. 23.24,25 seventh month: See the note at 16.29.
  11. 23.27 seventh month: See the note at 16.29.
  12. 23.27 Great Day of Forgiveness: See the note at 16.34.
  13. 23.34 seventh month: See the note at 16.29.
  14. 23.40 best fruit from your trees: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
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Leviticus 23
English Standard Version

Feasts of the Lord

23 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, (A)These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall (B)proclaim as (C)holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.

The Sabbath

3 (D)“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.

The Passover

4 (E)“These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the (F)holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. 5 (G)In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight,[a] is the Lord's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 (H)On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 8 But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”

The Feast of Firstfruits

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, (I)When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of (J)the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall (K)wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day when you (L)wave the sheaf, you shall offer a (M)male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 (N)And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah[b] of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, (O)and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.[c] 14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain (P)parched or (Q)fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

The Feast of Weeks

15 (R)“You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the (S)wave offering. 16 You shall count (T)fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of (U)new grain to the Lord. 17 You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as (V)firstfruits to the Lord. 18 And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 19 And you shall offer one (W)male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of (X)peace offerings. 20 And the priest shall (Y)wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. (Z)They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21 And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

22 “And (AA)when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

The Feast of Trumpets

23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In (AB)the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, (AC)a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.”

The Day of Atonement

26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Now (AD)on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves[d] and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For whoever is not afflicted[e] on that very day (AE)shall be cut off from his people. 30 And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”

The Feast of Booths

33 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, (AF)On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths[f] to the Lord. 35 On the first day shall be a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 36 For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. (AG)On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a (AH)solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.

37 (AI)“These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim as times of holy convocation, for presenting to the Lord food offerings, burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its proper day, 38 (AJ)besides the Lord's Sabbaths and besides your gifts and besides all your vow offerings and besides all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.

39 “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have (AK)gathered in the produce of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord seven days. On the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. 40 And (AL)you shall take on the first day the fruit of splendid trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and (AM)you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days. 41 (AN)You shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 (AO)You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that (AP)your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

44 Thus Moses (AQ)declared to the people of Israel the appointed feasts of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 23:5 Hebrew between the two evenings
  2. Leviticus 23:13 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
  3. Leviticus 23:13 A hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters
  4. Leviticus 23:27 Or shall fast; also verse 32
  5. Leviticus 23:29 Or is not fasting
  6. Leviticus 23:34 Or Tabernacles
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Leviticus 23
New International Version

The Appointed Festivals

23 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals,(A) the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.(B)

The Sabbath

3 “‘There are six days when you may work,(C) but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest,(D) a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work;(E) wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread(F)

4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:(G) 5 The Lord’s Passover(H) begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.(I) 6 On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread(J) begins; for seven days(K) you must eat bread made without yeast. 7 On the first day hold a sacred assembly(L) and do no regular work. 8 For seven days present a food offering to the Lord.(M) And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’”

Offering the Firstfruits

9 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you(N) and you reap its harvest,(O) bring to the priest a sheaf(P) of the first grain you harvest.(Q) 11 He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord(R) so it will be accepted(S) on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old(T) without defect,(U) 13 together with its grain offering(V) of two-tenths of an ephah[a](W) of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering(X) of a quarter of a hin[b] of wine.(Y) 14 You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain,(Z) until the very day you bring this offering to your God.(AA) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,(AB) wherever you live.(AC)

The Festival of Weeks(AD)

15 “‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. 16 Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath,(AE) and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah(AF) of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits(AG) to the Lord. 18 Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings(AH)—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. 19 Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering[c] and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. 20 The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,(AI) together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. 21 On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly(AJ) and do no regular work.(AK) This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

22 “‘When you reap the harvest(AL) of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.(AM) Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.(AN) I am the Lord your God.’”

The Festival of Trumpets(AO)

23 The Lord said to Moses, 24 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly(AP) commemorated with trumpet blasts.(AQ) 25 Do no regular work,(AR) but present a food offering to the Lord.(AS)’”

The Day of Atonement(AT)

26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month(AU) is the Day of Atonement.(AV) Hold a sacred assembly(AW) and deny yourselves,[d] and present a food offering to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work(AX) on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. 29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.(AY) 30 I will destroy from among their people(AZ) anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance(BA) for the generations to come, wherever you live. 32 It is a day of sabbath rest(BB) for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”(BC)

The Festival of Tabernacles(BD)

33 The Lord said to Moses, 34 “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh(BE) month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles(BF) begins, and it lasts for seven days. 35 The first day is a sacred assembly;(BG) do no regular work.(BH) 36 For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly(BI) and present a food offering to the Lord.(BJ) It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

37 (“‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings(BK) required for each day. 38 These offerings(BL) are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths(BM) and[e] in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings(BN) you give to the Lord.)

39 “‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival(BO) to the Lord for seven days;(BP) the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. 40 On the first day you are to take branches(BQ) from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees(BR)—and rejoice(BS) before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in temporary shelters(BT) for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters 43 so your descendants will know(BU) that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”

44 So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Leviticus 23:13 That is, probably about 7 pounds or about 3.2 kilograms; also in verse 17
  2. Leviticus 23:13 That is, about 1 quart or about 1 liter
  3. Leviticus 23:19 Or purification offering
  4. Leviticus 23:27 Or and fast; similarly in verses 29 and 32
  5. Leviticus 23:38 Or These festivals are in addition to the Lord’s Sabbaths, and these offerings are
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