Deuteronomy 16:11

11 and you shall ¹rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants * and ²the Levite who is in your town, and ³the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where * the LORD your God chooses to establish His name.

Deuteronomy 16:11 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 16:11

And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God
Make a liberal feast, and keep it cheerfully, in the presence of God, in the place where he resides, thankfully acknowledging all his mercies and favours:

thou, and thy son, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the
Levite that is within thy gates;
that dwelt in the same city, who were all to come with him to Jerusalem at this feast, and to partake of it with him:

and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among
you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his
name there;
who should be at Jerusalem at this time.

Deuteronomy 16:11 In-Context

9 "You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain.

10 "Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as the LORD your God blesses you;

11 and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name.

12 "You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

13 "You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat;

Cross References

• 1. Deuteronomy 12:7
• 2. Deuteronomy 12:12
• 3. Deuteronomy 14:29

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "gates"
• [b]. Or "fatherless"