Deuteronomy 16

Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread

1 Observe the month of Abib ^[a] and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. ¹

2 You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.

3 You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt.

4 No leaven is to be found in all your land for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day shall remain until morning.

5 You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you.

6 You must only offer the Passover sacrifice at the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name. Do this in the evening as the sun sets, at the same time you departed from Egypt.

7 And you shall roast it and eat it in the place the LORD your God will choose, and in the morning you shall return to your tents.

8 For six days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day you shall hold a solemn assembly to the LORD your God, and you must not do any work.

The Feast of Weeks

9 You are to count off seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain. ²

10 And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks ^[b] to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you,

11 and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.

12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes.

The Feast of Tabernacles

13 You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles ^[c] for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. ³

14 And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.

15 For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete.

16 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, ^[d] the Feast of Weeks, ^[e] and the Feast of Tabernacles. ^[f] No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.

17 Everyone must appear with a gift as he is able, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you.

Judges and Justice

18 You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.

19 Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.

20 Pursue justice, and justice alone, so that you may live, and you may possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

Forbidden Forms of Worship

21 Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole next to the altar you will build for the LORD your God,

22 and do not set up for yourselves a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates.

Deuteronomy 16 Commentary

Chapter 16

The yearly feasts. (1-17) Of judges, Groves and images forbidden. (18-22)

Verses 1-17 The laws for the three yearly feasts are here repeated; that of the Passover, that of the Pentecost, that of Tabernacles; and the general law concerning the people's attendance. Never should a believer forget his low estate of guilt and misery, his deliverance, and the price it cost the Redeemer; that gratitude and joy in the Lord may be mingled with sorrow for sin, and patience under the tribulations in his way to the kingdom of heaven. They must rejoice in their receivings from God, and in their returns of service and sacrifice to him; our duty must be our delight, as well as our enjoyment. If those who were under the law must rejoice before God, much more we that are under the grace of the gospel; which makes it our duty to rejoice evermore, to rejoice in the Lord always. When we rejoice in God ourselves, we should do what we can to assist others also to rejoice in him, by comforting the mourners, and supplying those who are in want. All who make God their joy, may rejoice in hope, for He is faithful that has promised.

Verses 18-22 Care is taken for the due administration of justice. All personal regards must be laid aside, so that right is done to all, and wrong to none. Care is taken to prevent following the idolatrous customs of the heathen. Nothing belies God more, or tends more to corrupt the minds of men, than representing and worshipping, by an image, that God, who is an almighty and eternal Spirit, present every where. Alas! even in gospel days, and under a better dispensation, established upon better promises, there is a tendency to set up idols, under one form or another, in the human heart.

Cross References

• 1. (Exodus 12:14–28; Leviticus 23:4–8; Numbers 28:16–25)
• 2. (Numbers 28:26–31)
• 3. (Numbers 29:12–40)

Footnotes

• [a]. Abib was the first month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar, usually occurring within the months of March and April; twice in this verse.
• [b]. That is, Shavuot; see footnotes for verse 16.
• [c]. Or Booths or Shelters; see footnotes for verse 16.
• [d]. That is, the seven-day period after the Passover during which no leaven may be eaten; see Exodus 12:14–20.
• [e]. That is, Shavuot, the late spring feast of pilgrimage to Jerusalem; it is also known as the Feast of Harvest (see Exodus 23:16) or the Feast of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1).
• [f]. That is, Sukkot, the autumn feast of pilgrimage to Jerusalem; also translated as the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Shelters and originally called the Feast of Ingathering (see Exodus 23:16 and Exodus 34:22).

Chapter Summary

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.