Deuteronomy 16:2-12

2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to Yahweh your God [from among] [your] flock and herd at the place that Yahweh will choose, to let his name dwell there.
3 You shall not eat {with it} anything leavened; seven days you shall eat {with it} unleavened bread of affliction, because in haste you went out from the land of Egypt, so that you will remember the day of your going out from the land of Egypt all the days of your life.
4 And leaven shall not be seen with you in any of your territory for seven days, and none of the meat that you will slaughter on the evening on the first day shall remain overnight until morning.
5 You are not allowed to offer the Passover sacrifice in one of your {towns} that Yahweh your God is giving to you,
6 but only at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there; you shall offer the Passover sacrifice {in the evening at sunset}, [at the] designated time of your going out from Egypt.
7 And you shall cook, and you shall eat [it] at the place that Yahweh your God will choose; and you may turn in the morning and go to your tents.
8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day [there shall be] an assembly for Yahweh your God; you shall not do work.
9 "You shall count [off] seven weeks for you; {from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain} you shall begin to count seven weeks.
10 And [then] you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the measure of the freewill offering of your hand that you shall give [just] as Yahweh your God has blessed you.
11 And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that [is] in your {towns} and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there.
12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and [so] {you shall diligently observe} these rules.

Deuteronomy 16:2-12 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.

Footnotes 10

  • [a]. Literally "in addition to" or "upon it"
  • [b]. Literally "in addition to" or "upon it"
  • [c]. Or "for"
  • [d]. Or "all [of]" your territory
  • [e]. Literally "gates"
  • [f]. Literally "in the evening as the sun goes/sets"
  • [g]. The Hebrew word here indicates the specific time that God had chosen to bring Israel out of Egypt
  • [h]. Literally "from the beginning of [the] sickle against the standing grain"
  • [i]. Literally "gates"
  • [j]. Literally "you shall observe and do"
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