Leviticus 23
Expanded Bible
Special Holidays
23 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel: ‘You will announce the Lord’s appointed ·feasts [festivals] as holy ·meetings [convocations]. These are my special ·feasts [festivals].
The Sabbath
3 “‘There are six days for you to work, but the seventh day will be a special day of rest. It is a day for a holy ·meeting [convocation]; you must not do any work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your homes [Ex. 20:8–11; 31:12–17; 35:1–3; Num. 28:9–10; Deut. 5:12–15].
The Passover and Unleavened Bread
4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed ·feasts [festivals], the holy ·meetings [convocations], which you will announce at the times set for them. 5 The Lord’s Passover is on the fourteenth day of the first month, beginning at twilight. 6 The ·Feast [Festival] of Unleavened Bread begins on the fifteenth day of the same month. You will eat bread made without ·yeast [leaven] for seven days. 7 On the first day of this ·feast [festival] you will have a holy ·meeting [convocation], and you must not do any work. 8 For seven days you will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. There will be a holy ·meeting [convocation] on the seventh day, and on that day you must not do any regular work [Ex. 12:1–13, 21–27; 23:15; Num. 28:16–25; Deut. 16:1–8].’”
The First of the Harvest
9 The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel: ‘You will enter the land I will give you and gather its harvest. At that time you must bring the first bundle of grain from your harvest to the priest. 11 The priest will ·present [wave] the bundle before the Lord, and it will be accepted for you; he will ·present [wave] the bundle on the day after the Sabbath.
12 “‘On the day when you ·present [wave; 23:15] the bundle of grain, offer a male lamb, one year old, that ·has nothing wrong with it [is perfect], as a burnt offering [1:1–17] to the Lord. 13 You must also offer a ·grain [L gift; tribute] offering [2:1]—·four quarts [L two tenths of an ephah] of ·fine [choice] flour mixed with olive oil as an offering made by fire to the Lord; its smell will be pleasing to him. You must also offer ·a quart [L one-fourth of a hin] of wine as a drink offering. 14 Until the day you bring your offering to your God, do not eat any new grain, roasted grain, or bread made from new grain. This ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] will always continue ·for people from now on [L throughout your generations], wherever you live [Ex. 23:16; Num. 28:26–31; Deut. 16:9–12].
The Feast of Weeks
15 “‘Count seven full weeks from the morning after the Sabbath. (This is the Sabbath that you bring the bundle of grain to ·present [wave] as an offering [C a ritual whereby the offerer symbolically waves the offering before God but then uses it].) 16 On the fiftieth day, the first day after the seventh week, you will bring a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 On that day bring two loaves of bread from your homes to be ·presented [waved] as an offering. Use yeast and ·four quarts [L two-tenths of an ephah] of flour to make those loaves of bread; they will be your gift to the Lord from the first wheat of your harvest.
18 “‘Offer with the bread one young bull, two male sheep, and seven male lambs that are one year old and have ·nothing wrong with them [no blemish]. Offer them with their ·grain [L gift; tribute] offerings [2:1] and drink offerings, as a burnt offering [1:1–17] to the Lord. They will be an offering made by fire, and the smell will be pleasing to the Lord. 19 You must also offer one male goat for a ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering and two male, one-year-old lambs as a ·fellowship [or peace; well-being] offering [3:1].
20 “‘The priest will ·present [wave; 23:15] the two lambs as an offering before the Lord, along with the bread from the first wheat of the harvest. They are holy to the Lord, and they will belong to the priest. 21 On that same day you will call a holy ·meeting [convocation]; you must not do any work that day. This ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] will continue for you ·from now on [L throughout your generations], wherever you live.
22 “‘When you harvest your crops on your land, do not harvest all the way to the corners of your field. If grain falls onto the ground, don’t gather it up. Leave it for poor people and ·foreigners in your country [resident aliens; 19:9–10; Deut. 24:19–22; Ruth 2]. I am the Lord your God.’”
The Feast of Trumpets
23 Again the Lord said to Moses, 24 “Tell the ·people [L sons] of Israel: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you must have a special day of rest, a holy ·meeting [convocation], when you blow the trumpet for a special time of remembering. 25 Do not do any work, and bring an offering made by fire to the Lord [Num. 29:1–6].’”
The Day of Cleansing
26 The Lord said to Moses, 27 “The Day of ·Cleansing [Atonement] will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. There will be a holy ·meeting [convocation], and you will deny yourselves and bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of ·Cleansing [Atonement]. On that day the priests will go before the Lord and ·perform the acts to make you clean from sin so you will belong to the Lord [make atonement for you].
29 “Anyone who ·refuses to give up food [or does not deny himself] on this day must be cut off from the people. 30 If anyone works on this day, I will destroy that person from among the people. 31 You must not do any work at all; this ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] will continue ·for people from now on [L throughout your generations] wherever you live. 32 It will be a special day of rest for you, and you must ·deny yourselves [or fast]. You will start this special day of rest on the evening after the ninth day of the month, and it will continue from that evening until the next evening [ch. 16; Num. 9:7–11].”
The Feast of Shelters
33 Again the Lord said to Moses, 34 “Tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month is the ·Feast [Festival] of ·Shelters [Booths]. This ·feast [festival] to the Lord will continue for seven days. 35 There will be a holy ·meeting [convocation] on the first day; do not do any work. 36 You will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord each day for seven days. On the eighth day you will have another holy ·meeting [convocation], and you will bring an offering made by fire to the Lord. This will be a holy ·meeting [convocation]; do not do any work.
37 (“‘These are the Lord’s special ·feasts [festivals], when there will be holy ·meetings [convocations] and when you bring offerings made by fire to the Lord. You will bring whole burnt offerings [1:1–17], ·grain [L gift; tribute] offerings [2:1], sacrifices, and drink offerings—each at the right time. 38 These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbath days, in addition to offerings you give as payment for ·special promises [vows], and in addition to ·special offerings you want to give to the Lord [freewill offerings].)
39 “‘So on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered in the crops of the land, celebrate the Lord’s ·festival [feast] for seven days. You must rest on the first day and the eighth day. 40 On the first day you will take good fruit from the fruit trees, as well as branches from palm trees, poplars, and other leafy trees. You will celebrate before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 Celebrate this ·festival [feast] to the Lord for seven days each year. This ·law [statute; ordinance; requirement] will continue ·from now on [L throughout your generations]; you will celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 Live in ·shelters [booths] for seven days. All the people born in Israel must live in ·shelters [booths] 43 so that all your descendants will know I made Israel live in ·shelters [booths] during the time I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God [Ex. 23:16–17; Num. 29:12–39; Deut. 16:13–15; 31:9–13].’”
44 So Moses told the people of Israel about all of the Lord’s appointed ·feast [festival] days.
Leviticus 23
Common English Bible
Sacred times
23 The Lord said to Moses: 2 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: These are my appointed times, the Lord’s appointed times, which you will declare to be holy occasions: 3 Work can be done for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of special rest, a holy occasion. You must not do any work on it; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord. 4 These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy occasions, which you will celebrate at their appointed times:
5 The Lord’s Passover is on the fourteenth day of the first month[a] at twilight. 6 The Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread is on the fifteenth day of the same month. You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. 7 On the first day you will hold a holy occasion and must not do any job-related work. 8 You will offer food gifts to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day will be a holy occasion; you must not do any job-related work.
9 The Lord said to Moses: 10 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you and harvest its produce, you must bring the first bundle of your harvest to the priest. 11 The priest will lift up the bundle before the Lord so that it will be acceptable on your behalf. The priest will do this on the day after the Sabbath. 12 On the day the bundle is lifted up for you, you must offer a flawless one-year-old lamb as an entirely burned offering to the Lord. 13 The accompanying grain offering must be two-tenths of an ephah[b] of choice flour mixed with oil, as a food gift for the Lord, a soothing smell. The accompanying drink offering must be a quarter of a hin of wine. 14 You must not eat any bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until the exact day when you bring your God’s offering. This is a permanent rule throughout your future generations, wherever you live.
15 You must count off seven weeks starting with the day after the Sabbath, the day you bring the bundle for the uplifted offering; these must be complete. 16 You will count off fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 From wherever you live, you will bring two loaves of bread as an uplifted offering. These must be made of two-tenths of an ephah of choice flour, baked with leaven, as early produce[c] to the Lord. 18 Along with the bread you must present seven flawless one-year-old lambs, one bull from the herd, and two rams. These will be an entirely burned offering to the Lord, along with their grain offerings and drink offerings, as a food gift of soothing smell to the Lord. 19 You must also offer one male goat as a purification offering and two one-year-old lambs as a communal sacrifice of well-being. 20 The priest will lift up the two sheep, along with the bread of the early produce, as an uplifted offering before the Lord. These will be holy to the Lord and will belong to the priest. 21 On that very same day you must make a proclamation; it will be a holy occasion for you. You must not do any job-related work. This is a permanent rule wherever you live throughout your future generations. 22 When you harvest your land’s produce, you must not harvest all the way to the edge of your field; and don’t gather every remaining bit of your harvest. Leave these items for the poor and the immigrant; I am the Lord your God.
23 The Lord said to Moses: 24 Say to the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month,[d] you will have a special rest, a holy occasion marked by a trumpet signal. 25 You must not do any job-related work, and you must offer a food gift to the Lord.
26 The Lord said to Moses: 27 Note that the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Reconciliation. It will be a holy occasion for you. You must deny yourselves and offer a food gift to the Lord. 28 You must not do any work that day because it is a Day of Reconciliation to make reconciliation for you before the Lord your God. 29 Anyone who does not deny themselves on that day will be cut off from their people. 30 Moreover, I will destroy from their people anyone who does any work on that day. 31 You must not do any work! This is a permanent rule throughout your future generations wherever you live. 32 This is a Sabbath of special rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. You will observe your Sabbath on the ninth day of the month from evening to the following evening.
33 The Lord said to Moses: 34 Say to the Israelites: The Festival of Booths to the Lord will start on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and will last for seven days. 35 The first day is a holy occasion. You must not do any job-related work. 36 For seven days you will offer food gifts to the Lord. On the eighth day you will have a holy occasion and must offer a food gift to the Lord. It is a holiday: you must not do any job-related work.
37 These are the Lord’s appointed times that you will proclaim as holy occasions, offering food gifts to the Lord: entirely burned offerings, grain offerings, communal sacrifices, and drink offerings—each on its proper day. 38 This is in addition to the Lord’s sabbaths and in addition to your presents, all the payments for solemn promises, and all the spontaneous gifts that you give to the Lord.
39 Note that on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the land’s crops, you will celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. The first day and the eighth day are days of special rest. 40 On the first day you must take fruit from majestic trees,[e] palm branches, branches of leafy trees,[f] and willows of the streams, and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You will celebrate this festival to the Lord for seven days each year; this is a permanent rule throughout your future generations. You will celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 For seven days you must live in huts. Every citizen of Israel must live in huts 43 so that your future generations will know that I made the Israelites live in huts when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.
44 So Moses announced the Lord’s appointed times to the Israelites.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 23:5 March–April, Nisan
- Leviticus 23:13 Four quarts dry; also in 23:17
- Leviticus 23:17 Or firstfruits; also in 23:20
- Leviticus 23:24 September–October, Tishrei; also in 23:27, 33, 39, 41
- Leviticus 23:40 Or hadar trees
- Leviticus 23:40 Heb uncertain
Leviticus 23
New King James Version
Feasts of the Lord
23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be (A)holy convocations, these are My feasts.
The Sabbath
3 (B)‘Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.
The Passover and Unleavened Bread(C)
4 (D)‘These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. 5 (E)On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 (F)On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no [a]customary work on it. 8 But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it.’ ”
The Feast of Firstfruits
9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: (G)‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of (H)the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall (I)wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord, for a [b]sweet aroma; and its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
The Feast of Weeks(J)
15 ‘And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 Count (K)fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer (L)a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are (M)the firstfruits to the Lord. 18 And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be as a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the Lord. 19 Then you shall sacrifice (N)one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a (O)peace offering. 20 The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. (P)They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21 And you shall proclaim on the same day that it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work on it. It shall be a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
22 (Q)‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.’ ”
The Feast of Trumpets(R)
23 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the (S)seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, (T)a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.’ ”
The Day of Atonement(U)
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 (V)“Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, (W)to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For any person who is not (X)afflicted in soul on that same day (Y)shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, (Z)that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall [c]afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall [d]celebrate your sabbath.”
The Feast of Tabernacles(AA)
33 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: (AB)‘The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. 36 For seven days you shall offer an (AC)offering made by fire to the Lord. (AD)On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. It is a (AE)sacred[e] assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.
37 (AF)‘These are the feasts of the Lord which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day— 38 (AG)besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the Lord.
39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have (AH)gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the Lord for seven days; on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest. 40 And (AI)you shall take for yourselves on the first day the [f]fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; (AJ)and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 (AK)You shall keep it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations. You shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 (AL)You shall dwell in [g]booths for seven days. (AM)All who are native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 (AN)that your generations may (AO)know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when (AP)I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.’ ”
44 So Moses (AQ)declared to the children of Israel the feasts of the Lord.
Footnotes
- Leviticus 23:7 occupational
- Leviticus 23:13 pleasing
- Leviticus 23:32 humble yourselves
- Leviticus 23:32 observe your sabbath
- Leviticus 23:36 solemn
- Leviticus 23:40 foliage
- Leviticus 23:42 tabernacles; shelters made of boughs
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
