CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 16
Chapter 16 of 34
Chapter Overview
What happens in Deuteronomy 16
Moses gives instructions for Israel's three major annual festivals: Passover, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. He also gives instructions about appointing judges and maintaining justice.
Scripture
Deuteronomy 16
The Passover
Study note
Israel was to celebrate Passover in the month of Abib, the month they left Egypt. They must sacrifice the Passover animal at the place God chose and eat unleavened bread for seven days as a reminder of their hasty departure from Egypt.
1 "Keep the month of Abib special by celebrating the Passover for the Lord your God. During a night in the month of Abib, the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt. Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
2 Offer the Passover sacrifice from your herd or flock to the Lord your God. Do this at the place the Lord will pick as a home for his name. Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there.
3 Do not eat any bread with yeast during this time. For seven straight days, eat only flatbread -- the bread of hardship -- because you rushed out of Egypt so quickly. Eat this bread so you will remember the day you left Egypt for the rest of your life. Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
4 No yeast should be found anywhere in your land for seven full days. And do not let any meat from the first evening's sacrifice sit until the next morning. And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
5 Do not sacrifice the Passover animal in just any town the Lord your God gives you. Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee:
6 Only sacrifice it at the location the Lord your God selects as a home for his name. Do it in the evening as the sun is going down -- the same time of day you left Egypt. But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
7 Prepare it and eat it at the place the Lord your God selects. The next morning, head back to your tents. And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
8 Eat flatbread for six days. On the seventh day, hold a special worship gathering for the Lord your God, and do not work. Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.
The Feast of Weeks
Study note
Seven weeks after the start of the grain harvest, Israel was to celebrate the Feast of Weeks with a freewill offering. This was a joyful celebration that included the whole community -- sons, daughters, servants, Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows.
9 "Count seven weeks starting from when the grain harvest begins. Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
10 Then celebrate the Festival of Weeks in honor of the Lord your God. Bring a voluntary offering based on how generously the Lord your God has blessed you. And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
11 Enjoy the feast before the Lord your God at the place he picks. You, your sons, daughters, and servants should come. The Levites in your area should come. So should the foreigners, orphans, and widows among you. And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, 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.
12 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt. Follow these instructions carefully. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.
The Feast of Tabernacles
Study note
After the harvest was gathered, Israel was to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days. Three times a year, all Israelite men had to appear before the Lord at the central place of worship and bring a gift according to how God had blessed them.
13 "You will have gathered the harvest from your threshing floor and winepress. Then hold the Feast of Shelters for seven days. Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
14 Enjoy this feast with your sons and daughters, your servants, the Levites, and the outsiders, orphans, and widows in your towns. And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
15 Celebrate for seven days at the place the Lord selects. The Lord your God is going to bless your harvest and all your work, so let your joy overflow. Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
16 "Three times every year, all your men must come before the Lord your God at the place he picks: during the Festival of Flatbread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters. No one should show up before the Lord with empty hands. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
17 Each person should bring a gift that matches how much the Lord your God has blessed them. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.
Appointing Judges
Study note
Moses commanded Israel to appoint judges and officials in every town. They must judge fairly, never take bribes, and never twist justice. Idols and sacred pillars were forbidden near God's altar.
18 "Set up judges and other officials for every tribe in every town the Lord your God gives you. They must decide cases fairly. Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
19 Never bend justice. Never play favorites. Never take bribes, because bribes cloud the judgment of even wise people and cause honest people to say dishonest things. Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
20 Chase after justice -- nothing but justice -- so that you may live and claim the land the Lord your God is giving you. That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
21 "Never set up a wooden idol of any kind next to an altar you build for the Lord your God. Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
22 And never set up a sacred stone pillar. The Lord your God despises these things." Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.
Key Themes
Themes in Deuteronomy 16
Remembering God's deliverance through festivalsJoy and generosity in worshipJustice and incorruptible judgesThe rhythm of sacred celebration
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Deuteronomy 16:1-8 1 Corinthians 5:7
The Passover celebration points to Christ our Passover lamb, who has been sacrificed for us, transforming this annual remembrance into an eternal reality.
Apply This Today
Living Deuteronomy 16
The three annual festivals ensured Israel would regularly remember God's deliverance, celebrate His provision, and give thanks for the harvest. These were not somber duties but joyful celebrations that included the poor, the foreigner, and the orphan. The command to appoint just judges connects worship with daily justice, showing that how we treat people is inseparable from how we worship God.
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