The Torah · Old Testament
Deuteronomy 16
Shared festivals and impartial judgment
General context
The festival instructions begin with Passover in Abib, linking unleavened bread and the evening sacrifice to Israel's departure from Egypt. Seven weeks counted from the start of harvest lead to the Feast of Weeks, and a seven-day Feast of Tabernacles follows the gathering of grain and wine. Rejoicing includes family, servants, Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. All males are required to appear at the chosen place for the three named festivals and give according to what they have received. The chapter then commands local judges and officers, forbids partiality and bribes, and prohibits a sacred tree beside the Lord's altar and the setting up of an image.
Cited passages: Deuteronomy 16:1, Deuteronomy 16:2, Deuteronomy 16:3, Deuteronomy 16:4, Deuteronomy 16:5, Deuteronomy 16:6, Deuteronomy 16:7, Deuteronomy 16:8, Deuteronomy 16:9, Deuteronomy 16:10, Deuteronomy 16:11, Deuteronomy 16:12, Deuteronomy 16:13, Deuteronomy 16:14, Deuteronomy 16:15, Deuteronomy 16:16, Deuteronomy 16:17, Deuteronomy 16:18, Deuteronomy 16:19, Deuteronomy 16:20, Deuteronomy 16:21, Deuteronomy 16:22
Deuteronomy 16 (KJV)
1Observe 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.
2Thou 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.
3Thou 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.
4And 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.
5Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee:
6But 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.
7And 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.
8Six 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.
9Seven 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.
10And 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:
11And 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.
12And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.
13Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
14And 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.
15Seven 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.
16Three 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:
17Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.
18Judges 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.
19Thou 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.
20That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
21Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
22Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the Lord thy God hateth.
This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.
Historical context
The Passover instructions specify the chosen place, an evening sacrifice and a morning return to tents. KJV and ASV use roast at 16:7, while BBE says cooked. The seven-week count begins with putting the sickle to the grain, and the later feast follows the harvest's gathering. The required appearance of males does not erase the sons, daughters, male and female servants and vulnerable neighbors explicitly included in the celebrations. For judges, the stated danger of a bribe is that it blinds the wise and distorts the words of the righteous.
Cited passages: Deuteronomy 16:1, Deuteronomy 16:2, Deuteronomy 16:3, Deuteronomy 16:4, Deuteronomy 16:5, Deuteronomy 16:6, Deuteronomy 16:7, Deuteronomy 16:8, Deuteronomy 16:9, Deuteronomy 16:10, Deuteronomy 16:11, Deuteronomy 16:12, Deuteronomy 16:13, Deuteronomy 16:14, Deuteronomy 16:15, Deuteronomy 16:16, Deuteronomy 16:17, Deuteronomy 16:18, Deuteronomy 16:19
Literary context
Remembering slavery and rejoicing in the harvest join past deliverance to present giving. Repeated lists of participants make the celebration larger than the landholder's immediate interest. The final move to judgment keeps communal life in view beyond the festival meal. Justice must be pursued without favoritism, just as offerings are to be given according to each person's means rather than a single amount imposed here on everyone.
Cited passages: Deuteronomy 16:9, Deuteronomy 16:10, Deuteronomy 16:11, Deuteronomy 16:12, Deuteronomy 16:13, Deuteronomy 16:14, Deuteronomy 16:15, Deuteronomy 16:16, Deuteronomy 16:17, Deuteronomy 16:18, Deuteronomy 16:19, Deuteronomy 16:20
Key moments
- Bread as a reminder (Deuteronomy 16:3). Unleavened bread recalls affliction and the haste of departure from Egypt.
- A wide circle of rejoicing (Deuteronomy 16:11). The Weeks celebration includes household members and neighbors who need provision.
- Justice without bribes (Deuteronomy 16:19). The judging instruction names the distorting effect of partiality and gifts.
For reflection
How do the named participants shape the festivals' shared joy? What connection do you see between the commands about giving, inclusion and impartial judgment?