Leviticus 23
23
The Religious Festivals
1The LORD gave Moses 2the following regulations for the religious festivals, when the people of Israel are to gather for worship. 3#Ex 20.8–10; 23.12; 31.15; 34.21; 35.2; Deut 5.12–14You have six days in which to do your work, but remember that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is a day of rest. On that day do not work, but gather for worship. The Sabbath belongs to the LORD, no matter where you live. 4Proclaim the following festivals at the appointed times.
Passover and Unleavened Bread
(Num 28.16–25)
5 #
Ex 12.1–13; Deut 16.1–2 The Passover, celebrated to honour the LORD, begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6#Ex 12.14–20; 23.15; 34.18; Deut 16.3–8On the fifteenth day the Festival of Unleavened Bread begins, and for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast. 7On the first of these days you shall gather for worship and do none of your daily work. 8Offer your food offerings to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day you shall again gather for worship, but you shall do none of your daily work.
9-10When you come into the land that the LORD is giving you and you harvest your corn, take the first sheaf to the priest. 11He shall present it as a special offering to the LORD, so that you may be accepted. The priest shall present it the day after the Sabbath. 12On the day you present the offering of corn, also sacrifice as a burnt offering a one-year-old male lamb that has no defects. 13With it you shall present two kilogrammes of flour mixed with olive oil as a food offering. The smell of this offering is pleasing to the LORD. You shall also present with it an offering of one litre of wine. 14Do not eat any of the new corn, whether raw, roasted, or baked into bread, until you have brought this offering to God. This regulation is to be observed by all your descendants for all time to come.
The Harvest Festival
(Num 28.26–31)
15 #
Ex 23.16; 34.22; Deut 16.9–12 Count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath on which you bring your sheaf of corn to present to the LORD. 16On the fiftieth day, the day after the seventh Sabbath, present to the LORD another new offering of corn. 17Each family is to bring two loaves of bread and present them to the LORD as a special gift. Each loaf shall be made of two kilogrammes of flour baked with yeast and shall be presented to the Lord as an offering of the first corn to be harvested. 18And with the bread the community is to present seven one-year-old lambs, one bull, and two rams, none of which may have any defects. They shall be offered as a burnt offering to the LORD, together with a grain offering and a wine offering. The smell of this offering is pleasing to the LORD. 19Also offer one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering. 20The priest shall present the bread with the two lambs as a special gift to the LORD for the priests. These offerings are holy. 21On that day do none of your daily work, but gather for worship. Your descendants are to observe this regulation for all time to come, no matter where they live.
22 #
Lev 19.9–10; Deut 24.19–22 When you harvest your fields, do not cut the corn at the edges of the fields, and do not go back to cut the ears of corn that were left; leave them for poor people and foreigners. The LORD is your God.
The New Year Festival
(Num 29.1–6)
23-24On the first day of the seventh month observe a special day of rest, and come together for worship when the trumpets sound. 25Present a food offering to the LORD and do none of your daily work.
The Day of Atonement
(Num 29.7–11)
26-27 #
Lev 16.29–34
The tenth day of the seventh month is the day when the annual ritual is to be performed to take away the sins of the people. On that day do not eat anything at all; come together for worship, and present a food offering to the Lord. 28Do no work on that day, because it is the day for performing the ritual to take away sin. 29Anyone who eats anything on that day will no longer be considered one of God's people. 30And if anyone does any work on that day, the LORD himself will put him to death. 31This regulation applies to all your descendants, no matter where they live. 32From sunset on the ninth day of the month to sunset on the tenth observe this day as a special day of rest, during which nothing may be eaten.
The Festival of Shelters
(Num 29.12–40)
33-34 #
Deut 16.13–15
The Festival of Shelters begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and continues for seven days. 35On the first of these days come together for worship and do none of your daily work. 36Each day for seven days you shall present a food offering. On the eighth day come together again for worship and present a food offering. It is a day for worship, and you shall do no work.
37(These are the religious festivals on which you honour the LORD by gathering together for worship and presenting food offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and wine offerings, as required day by day. 38These festivals are in addition to the regular Sabbaths, and these offerings are in addition to your regular gifts, your offerings in fulfilment of vows, and your freewill offerings that you give to the LORD.)
39When you have harvested your fields, celebrate this festival for seven days, beginning on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The first day shall be a special day of rest. 40On that day take some of the best fruit from your trees, take palm branches and the branches of leafy trees, and begin a religious festival to honour the LORD your God. 41Celebrate it for seven days. This regulation is to be kept by your descendants for all time to come. 42All the people of Israel shall live in shelters for seven days, 43so that your descendants may know that the LORD made the people of Israel live in simple shelters when he led them out of Egypt. He is the LORD your God.
44So in this way Moses gave the people of Israel the regulations for observing the religious festivals to honour the LORD.
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Leviticus 23: GNBUK
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Leviticus 23
23
The Special Festivals
1The Lord said to Moses, 2“Tell the Israelites: You will announce the Lord’s chosen festivals as holy meetings. These are my special festivals.
Sabbath
3“Work for six days, but the seventh day, the Sabbath, will be a special day of rest, a holy meeting. You must not do any work. It is a day of rest to honor the Lord in all your homes.
Passover
4“These are the Lord’s chosen festivals. You will announce the holy meetings at the times chosen for them. 5The Lord’s Passover is on the 14th day of the first month#23:5 first month Abib (or Nisan). See “Abib” in the Word List. just before dark.
Festival of Unleavened Bread
6“The Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th day of the same month. You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. 7On the first day of this festival, you will have a special meeting. You must not do any work on that day. 8For seven days, you will bring sacrifices offered as gifts to the Lord. Then there will be another special meeting on the seventh day. You must not do any work on that day.”
Festival of the First Harvests
9The Lord said to Moses, 10“Tell the Israelites: You will enter the land that I will give you and reap its harvest. At that time you must bring in the first sheaf#23:10 sheaf A stack of grain. Also in verses 12, 15. of your harvest to the priest. 11The priest will lift the sheaf to show it was offered before the Lord. Then you will be accepted. The priest will present the sheaf on Sunday morning.#23:11 Sunday morning Literally, “the morning after the Sabbath.” Also in verse 15.
12“On the day when you present the sheaf, you will offer a one-year-old male lamb. There must be nothing wrong with that lamb. That lamb will be a burnt offering to the Lord. 13You must also offer a grain offering of 16 cups#23:13 16 cups Literally, “2/10 of an ephah” (4.4 l). Also in verse 17. of fine flour mixed with olive oil. You must also offer 1 quart#23:13 1 quart Literally, “1/4 hin” (.8 l). of wine. The smell of that offering will please the Lord. 14You must not eat any of the new grain, or fruit, or bread made from the new grain until you bring that offering to your God. This law will always continue through your generations, wherever you live.
Festival of Harvest
15“From that Sunday morning (the day you bring the sheaf to be presented to God), count seven weeks. 16On the Sunday following the seventh week (that is, 50 days later), you will bring a new grain offering to the Lord. 17On that day bring two loaves of bread from your homes. That bread will be lifted up to show it was offered to God. Use yeast and 16 cups of flour to make those loaves of bread. That will be your gift to the Lord from your first harvest.
18“With these grain offerings bring one bull, one ram, and seven one-year-old male lambs for burnt offerings to the Lord. There must be nothing wrong with these animals. Offer them together with the grain offerings and the drink offerings. The smell of these offerings made by fire will be pleasing to the Lord. 19You will also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship offering.
20“The priest will lift them up with the bread from the first harvest to show they were offered with the two lambs before the Lord. They are holy to the Lord. They will belong to the priest. 21On that same day you will call a holy meeting. You must not do any work. This law continues forever in all your homes.
22“Also, when you harvest the crops on your land, don’t cut all the way to the corners of your field. Don’t pick up the grain that falls on the ground. Leave it for poor people and for foreigners traveling through your country. I am the Lord your God.”
Festival of Trumpets
23Again the Lord said to Moses, 24“Tell the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month, you must have a special day of rest. Blow the trumpet to remind the people that this is a holy meeting. 25You must not do any work. You must bring an offering as a gift to the Lord.”
Day of Atonement
26The Lord said to Moses, 27“The Day of Atonement will be on the tenth day of the seventh month. There will be a holy meeting. You must not eat food,#23:27 You must not eat food Literally, “You must humble yourselves.” Also in verse 32. and you must bring an offering as a gift to the Lord. 28You must not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement. On that day the priests will go before the Lord and perform the ceremony that makes you pure.
29“Anyone who refuses to fast on this day must be separated from their people. 30If anyone does any work on this day, I will destroy that person from among the people. 31You must not do any work at all. This is a law that continues forever for you, wherever you live. 32It will be a special day of rest for you. You must not eat food. You will start this special day of rest on the evening following the ninth day of the month.#23:32 evening following … month A day starts at sunset. This special day of rest continues from that evening until the next evening.”
Festival of Shelters
33Again the Lord said to Moses, 34“Tell the Israelites: On the 15th day of the seventh month is the Festival of Shelters. This festival to the Lord will continue for seven days. 35There will be a holy meeting on the first day. You must not do any work. 36You will bring offerings as gifts to the Lord for seven days. On the eighth day, you will have another holy meeting. You must not do any work. You will bring an offering as a gift to the Lord.
37“These are the Lord’s special festivals. There will be holy meetings during these festivals. You will bring offerings as gifts to the Lord—burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and drink offerings. You will bring these gifts at the right time. 38You will celebrate these festivals in addition to remembering the Lord’s Sabbath days. You will offer these gifts in addition to your other gifts and any offerings you give as payment for your special promises. They will be in addition to any special offerings you want to give to the Lord.
39“On the 15th day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you will celebrate the Lord’s festival for seven days. The first day will be a special day of rest, and then the eighth day will also be a special day of rest. 40On the first day you will take good fruit from fruit trees. And you will take branches from palm trees, poplar trees, and willow trees by the brook. You will celebrate before the Lord your God for seven days. 41You will celebrate this festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This law will continue forever. You will celebrate this festival in the seventh month. 42You will live in temporary shelters for seven days. All the people born in Israel will live in them. 43Why? So all your descendants will know that I made the Israelites live in temporary shelters during the time I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
44So Moses told the Israelites about all the special meetings to honor the Lord.
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