Moses and Aaron Before Pharaoh

After Moses and Aaron talked to the people, they went to ·the king of Egypt [^LPharaoh] and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go so they may ·hold a feast [celebrate a festival; or make a pilgrimage] for me in the ·desert [wilderness].’”

Moses answered, “We will go with our young and old people, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds, because we are going to ·have a feast [celebrate a festival; or make a pilgrimage] to honor the Lord.”

“You are always to remember this day and celebrate it with a feast to the Lord. ·Your descendants are to honor the Lord with this feast from now on [^LYou are to observe it throughout your generations as a perpetual statute/ordinance/requirement].

For this feast you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] for seven days. On the first day, you are to remove all the ·yeast [leaven] from your houses. No one should eat ·any yeast [anything leavened] from the first day until the seventh day, or that person will be cut off from Israel.

You are to have ·holy meetings [sacred/solemn convocation] on the first and last days of the feast. You must not do any work on these days; the only work you may do is to prepare your meals.

You must ·celebrate [^Lkeep; guard] the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your ·divisions of people [hosts; ^Ca military designation] out of Egypt. So all of your descendants must celebrate this day. This is a ·law that will last from now on [^Lperpetual statute/ordinance/requirement throughout your generations].

During this feast you must not eat anything ·made with yeast [leavened]. You must eat only ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] wherever you live.”

The whole ·community [congregation; assembly] of Israel ·must take part in this feast [^Lwill act thus].

The Lord will ·lead [or bring] you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites [^Cvarious peoples who lived in the Promised Land]. This is the land he promised your ancestors he would give you [Gen. 12:1–3], a ·fertile land [^La land flowing with milk and honey; 3:8]. There you must ·celebrate this feast during the first month of every year [^Lkeep this observance in this month].

For seven days you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread], and on the seventh day there will be a feast to honor the Lord.

On that day you should tell your ·son [child]: ‘·We are having this feast [^LIt is] because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’

This feast will help you remember, like a ·mark [sign] on your hand or a reminder ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes]. This feast will remind you to speak the Lord’s ·teachings [law; instructions], because the Lord used his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] to bring you out of Egypt.

·So celebrate this feast every year at the right time [^LYou must observe/keep/guard this statute/ordinance/requirement as an appointed time for all time].

This feast is like a ·mark [sign] on your hand and a ·reminder [phylactery; ^Clater a leather box containing Scripture worn on arm and forehead, though here perhaps figurative] ·on your forehead [^Lbetween your eyes] to help you remember that the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his ·great power [^Lmighty hand].”

Three Yearly Feasts

“Three times each year you must ·hold a feast to honor me [hold a festival; or make a pilgrimage for me].

You must celebrate the ·Feast [Festival] of Unleavened Bread [34:18] in the way I commanded you. For seven days you must eat ·bread that is made without yeast [unleavened bread] at the set time during the month of Abib [13:4], the month when you came out of Egypt. No one is to ·come to worship [appear before] me ·without bringing an offering [empty-handed].

“You must celebrate the ·Feast [Festival] of Harvest [^Ccalled Feast of Weeks in 34:22; later called Pentecost]. Offer to God the first things you harvest from the crops you planted in your fields. “You must celebrate the ·Feast [Festival] of Ingathering [^Clater called Feast of Shelters or Booths; Lev. 23:33–36] in the fall, when you gather all the crops from your fields.

When Aaron saw all this, he built an altar before the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a ·special feast to honor [festival for] the Lord.”

“Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread [12:17–20]. For seven days you must eat ·bread made without yeast [unleavened bread] as I commanded you. Do this ·during the month I have chosen, [^Lat the appointed time in] the month of Abib [13:4], because in ·that month [^Lthe month of Abib] you came out of Egypt.

“Celebrate the Feast of Weeks when you gather the first grain of the wheat harvest [23:16]. And celebrate the Feast of ·Shelters [^LIngathering] ·in the fall [^Lat the turn of the year; 23:17].

“Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me with ·anything containing yeast [leaven], and do not leave any of the sacrifice of the Feast of Passover until the next morning [12:10].