Deuteronomy 16
16
The Passover-Unleavened Bread Festival
1 Observe the month Abib#sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar. and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month#tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons. he#tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy. brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 You must sacrifice the Passover animal#tn Heb “sacrifice the Passover” (so NASB). The word “animal” has been supplied in the translation for clarity. (from the flock or the herd) to the Lord your God in the place where he#tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in the previous verse. chooses to locate his name. 3 You must not eat any yeast with it; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, symbolic of affliction, for you came out of Egypt hurriedly. You must do this so you will remember for the rest of your life the day you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 There must not be a scrap of yeast within your land#tn Heb “leaven must not be seen among you in all your border.” for seven days, nor can any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until the next morning.#tn Heb “remain all night until the morning” (so KJV, ASV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons. 5 You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of your villages#tn Heb “gates.” that the Lord your God is giving you, 6 but you must sacrifice it#tn Heb “the Passover.” The translation uses a pronoun to avoid redundancy in English. in the evening in#tc The MT reading אֶל (’el, “unto”) before “the place” should, following Smr, Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate, be omitted in favor of ב (bet; בַּמָּקוֹם, bammaqom), “in the place.” the place where he#tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1. chooses to locate his name, at sunset, the time of day you came out of Egypt. 7 You must cook#tn The rules that governed the Passover meal are found in Exod 12:1-51, and Deut 16:1-8. The word translated “cook” (בָּשַׁל, bashal) here is translated “boil” in other places (e.g. Exod 23:19, 1 Sam 2:13-15). This would seem to contradict Exod 12:9 where the Israelites are told not to eat the Passover sacrifice raw or boiled. However, 2 Chr 35:13 recounts the celebration of a Passover feast during the reign of Josiah, and explains that the people “cooked (בָּשַׁל, bashal) the Passover sacrifices over the open fire.” The use of בָּשַׁל (bashal) with “fire” (אֵשׁ, ’esh) suggests that the word could be used to speak of boiling or roasting. and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses; you may return the next morning to your tents. 8 You must eat bread made without yeast for six days. The seventh day you are to hold an assembly for the Lord your God; you must not do any work on that day.#tn The words “on that day” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for clarification (cf. TEV, NLT).
The Festival of Weeks
9 You must count seven weeks; you must begin to count them#tn Heb “the seven weeks.” The translation uses a pronoun to avoid redundancy in English. from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain. 10 Then you are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks#tn The Hebrew phrase חַג שָׁבֻעוֹת (khag shavu’ot) is otherwise known in the OT (Exod 23:16) as קָצִיר (qatsir, “harvest”) and in the NT as πεντηχοστή (penthcosth, “Pentecost”). before the Lord your God with the voluntary offering#tn Heb “the sufficiency of the offering of your hand.” that you will bring, in proportion to how he#tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1. has blessed you. 11 You shall rejoice before him#tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1. – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages,#tn Heb “gates.” the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name. 12 Furthermore, remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so be careful to observe these statutes.
The Festival of Temporary Shelters
13 You must celebrate the Festival of Temporary Shelters#tn The Hebrew phrase חַג הַסֻּכֹּת (khag hassukot, “festival of huts” or “festival of shelters”) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is now preferable to the traditional “tabernacles” (KJV, ASV, NIV) in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. Clearer is the English term “shelters” (so NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), but this does not reflect the temporary nature of the living arrangement. This feast was a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt, suggesting that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate. for seven days, at the time of the grain and grape harvest.#tn Heb “when you gather in your threshing-floor and winepress.” 14 You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages.#tn Heb “in your gates.” 15 You are to celebrate the festival seven days before the Lord your God in the place he#tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 16:1. chooses, for he#tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1. will bless you in all your productivity and in whatever you do;#tn Heb “in all the work of your hands” (so NASB, NIV); NAB, NRSV “in all your undertakings.” so you will indeed rejoice! 16 Three times a year all your males must appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Temporary Shelters; and they must not appear before him#tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 16:1. empty-handed. 17 Every one of you must give as you are able,#tn Heb “a man must give according to the gift of his hand.” This has been translated as second person for stylistic reasons, in keeping with the second half of the verse, which is second person rather than third. according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
Provision for Justice
18 You must appoint judges and civil servants#tn The Hebrew term וְשֹׁטְרִים (vÿshoterim), usually translated “officers” (KJV, NCV) or “officials” (NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), derives from the verb שֹׁטֵר (shoter, “to write”). The noun became generic for all types of public officials. Here, however, it may be appositionally epexegetical to “judges,” thus resulting in the phrase, “judges, that is, civil officers,” etc. Whoever the שֹׁטְרִים are, their task here consists of rendering judgments and administering justice. for each tribe in all your villages#tn Heb “gates.” that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.#tn Heb “with judgment of righteousness”; ASV, NASB “with righteous judgment.” 19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort#tn Heb “twist, overturn”; NRSV “subverts the cause.” the words of the righteous.#tn Or “innocent”; NRSV “those who are in the right”; NLT “the godly.” 20 You must pursue justice alone#tn Heb “justice, justice.” The repetition is emphatic; one might translate as “pure justice” or “unadulterated justice” (cf. NLT “true justice”). so that you may live and inherit the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Examples of Legal Cases
21 You must not plant any kind of tree as a sacred Asherah pole#tn Heb “an Asherah, any tree.”sn Sacred Asherah pole. This refers to a tree (or wooden pole) dedicated to the worship of Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. See also Deut 7:5. near the altar of the Lord your God which you build for yourself. 22 You must not erect a sacred pillar,#sn Sacred pillar. This refers to the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5. a thing the Lord your God detests.
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Deuteronomy 16: NET
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Deuteronomy 16
16
1Thou shalt keepe the moneth of Abib, and thou shalt celebrate the Passeouer vnto the Lord thy God: for in the moneth of Abib ye Lord thy God brought thee out of Egypt by night. 2Thou shalt therefore offer the Passeouer vnto the Lord thy God, of sheepe and bullockes in the place where the Lord shall chose to cause his Name to dwell. 3Thou shalt eate no leauened bread with it: but seuen dayes shalt thou eate vnleauened bread therewith, euen the bread of tribulation: for thou camest out of the land of Egypt in haste, that thou maist remember ye day whe thou camest out of the land of Egypt, all the dayes of thy life. 4And there shalbe no leauen seene with thee in all thy coastes seuen dayes long: neither shall there remaine the night any of the flesh vntil the morning which thou offeredst ye first day at euen. 5Thou maist not offer ye Passeouer within any of thy gates, which ye Lord thy God giueth thee: 6But in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his Name, there thou shalt offer the Passeouer at euen, about the going downe of the sunne, in the season that thou camest out of Egypt. 7And thou shalt roste and eate it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, and shalt returne on the morowe, and goe vnto thy tentes. 8Six daies shalt thou eate vnleauened bread, and ye seuenth day shall be a solemne assemblie to ye Lord thy God thou shalt do no worke therein. 9Seuen weekes shalt thou nomber vnto thee, and shalt beginne to nomber ye seuen weekes, when thou beginnest to put the sickel to ye corne: 10And thou shalt keepe the feast of weekes vnto the Lord thy God, euen a free gift of thine hand, which thou shalt giue vnto the Lord thy God, as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. 11And thou shalt reioyce before the Lord thy God, thou and thy sonne, and thy daughter, and thy seruant, and thy maide, and the Leuite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherles, and the widowe, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God shall chuse to place his Name there, 12And thou shalt remember that thou wast a seruant in Egypt: therefore thou shalt obserue and doe these ordinances. 13Thou shalt obserue the feast of the Tabernacles seuen daies, when thou hast gathered in thy corne, and thy wine. 14And thou shalt reioyce in thy feast, thou, and thy sonne, and thy daughter, and thy seruant, and thy maid, and the Leuite, and the stranger, and the fatherlesse, and the widow, that are within thy gates. 15Seuen daies shalt thou keepe a feast vnto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall chuse: when the Lord thy God shall blesse thee in all thine increase, and in all the workes of thine hands, thou shalt in any case be glad. 16Three times in the yeere shall all the males appeare before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall chuse: in the feast of the vnleauened bread, and in the feast of the weekes, and in the feast of the Tabernacles: and they shall not appeare before the Lord emptie. 17Euery man shall giue according to the gift of his hand, and according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he hath giuen thee. 18Iudges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy cities, which the Lord thy God giueth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall iudge the people with righteous iudgement. 19Wrest not thou ye Law, nor respect any person, neither take rewarde: for the reward blindeth ye eyes of the wise, and peruerteth ye worde of ye iust. 20That which is iust and right shalt thou follow, that thou maiest liue, and possesse the land which the Lord thy God giueth thee. 21Thou shalt plant thee no groue of any trees neere vnto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee. 22Thou shalt set thee vp no pillar, which thing the Lord thy God hateth.
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