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Deuteronomy 16:14-22

Listen to Deuteronomy 16:14-22
14 1You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns.
15 For 2seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.
16 3“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. 4They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
17 Every man 5shall give as he is able, 6according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.

Justice

18 “You shall appoint 7judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
19 8You shall not pervert justice. 9You shall not show partiality, 10and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.
20 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Forbidden Forms of Worship

21 “You shall not plant any tree as 11an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make.
22 And you shall not set up a pillar, which the Lord your God hates.

Deuteronomy 16:14-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 16

This chapter treats of the three grand yearly festivals, of the feast of passover, when, where, and what was to be sacrificed, how to be dressed, and in what manner to be eaten, De 16:1-8, of the feast of pentecost, when to begin it, where and how it was to be observed, De 16:9-12, and of the feast of tabernacles, when, where, and how long it was to be kept, De 16:13-15, which three times in the year all the males were to appear before the Lord, and not empty, De 16:16,17, an order is given for the appointment of judges in the land, to execute judgment, De 16:18-20, and the chapter is closed with a caution against planting groves, and setting up images, De 16:21,22.

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Cross References 11

  • 1. 16:14 ver. 11; See Neh. 8:9-12
  • 2. 16:15 Lev. 23:39
  • 3. 16:16 ch. 31:11; Ex. 23:14, 17; 34:23
  • 4. 16:16 Ex. 23:15
  • 5. 16:17 [Ezek. 46:5, 11; 2 Cor. 8:12]
  • 6. 16:17 [See ver. 10 above]
  • 7. 16:18 ch. 1:16; Num. 11:16; Josh. 1:10; 1 Chr. 23:4; 26:29
  • 8. 16:19 ch. 27:19; Ex. 23:2, 6; Isa. 10:2; Amos 5:12; [Lev. 19:15]; See ch. 24:17
  • 9. 16:19 See ch. 1:17
  • 10. 16:19 See Ex. 23:8
  • 11. 16:21 Ex. 34:13; Judg. 6:25; 1 Kgs. 14:15; 16:33; 2 Kgs. 13:6; 17:16; 2 Chr. 33:3
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025

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