- Leviticus
- <
- 23
- >

23
1 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Tell the Israelites that these are my religious festivals, the festivals of the Lord that you are to call as the holy times when we meet together. 3 You have six days to work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy day of meeting together. Don't do any work. It is the Lord's Sabbath everywhere you live.
4 These are the Lord's religious festivals, the holy meetings that you are to announce at their specific times. 5 The Lord's Passover starts on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month. 6 The Lord's Festival of Unleavened Bread begins on the fifteenth day of the first month. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. 7 On the first day you are to hold a holy meeting. You must not do any of your usual work. 8 For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. There is to be a holy meeting on the seventh day. You must not do any of your usual work.”
9 The Lord told Moses, 10 “Tell the Israelites that when you enter the land that I'm giving you and you harvest your crops, take a stack of grain from the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He will wave the stack of grain before the Lord so that it may be accepted on your behalf. The priest is to do this the day following the Sabbath. 12 When you wave the stack of grain, you are to present a one-year-old lamb without defects as a burnt offering to the Lord, 13 together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the best flour mixed with olive oil (a food offering to the Lord to be accepted by him) and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. 14 Don't eat any bread, roasted grain, or new grain until the time you bring this offering to your God. This regulation is for all time and for future generations everywhere you live.
15 Count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath—the day you brought the stack of grain as a wave offering. 16 Count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and on that day present an offering of new grain to the Lord. 17 Bring two loaves of bread from your homes as a wave offering. Make them from two-tenths of an ephah of the best flour, baked with yeast, as the firstfruits to the Lord. 18 As well as the bread, present seven one-year-old male lambs without defects, one young bull, and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, as well as their grain offerings and drink offerings, a food offering to the Lord to be accepted by him. 19 Present one male goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old male lambs as a peace offering. 20 The priest will wave the lambs as a wave offering before the Lord, along with the bread of the firstfruits. The bread and the two lambs are holy to the Lord and belong to the priest. 21 That same day you are to announce a holy meeting, and you must not do any of your usual work. This regulation is for all time and for future generations everywhere you live.
22 When you harvest the crops grown on your land, don't harvest right up to the edges of your field, or collect what has been missed. Leave them for the poor people and foreigners. I am the Lord your God.”
23 The Lord told Moses, 24 “Tell the Israelites that on the first day of the seventh month you are to have a special Sabbath of complete rest, a holy meeting that is announced by the sound of trumpets. 25 Don't do any of your usual work; instead you are to present a food offering to the Lord.”
26 The Lord told Moses, 27 “The Day of Atonement is on the tenth day of this seventh month. You are to have a holy meeting, deny yourselves,*“Deny yourselves”: this is usually taken to mean fasting and the avoidance of pleasures. and present a food offering to the Lord 28 On this day you must not do any of your usual work because it is the Day of Atonement, when things are made right for you before the Lord your God. 29 Anyone who does not practice self-denial on this day must be expelled from their people. 30 I will destroy anyone of you who does any work on this day. 31 Don't do any kind of work at all. This regulation is for all time and for future generations everywhere you live. 32 It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you shall practice self-denial. You are to observe your Sabbath from the evening of the ninth day of the month until evening the next day.”
33 The Lord told Moses, 34 “Tell the Israelites that the Feast of Tabernacles to honor the Lord begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month and lasts for seven days. 35 On the first day have a holy meeting. You must not do any of your usual work. 36 For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. On the eighth day you are to have another holy meeting and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a meeting for worship. You must not do any of your usual work.
37 These are the Lord's holy festivals, which you are to announce as holy meetings for presenting food offerings to the Lord. These include burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each according to the specific day. 38 All of these offerings are in addition to those for the Lord's Sabbaths. They are also in addition to your gifts, to all your offerings to fulfill promises, and to all the freewill offerings you present to the Lord.
39 You shall celebrate a feast to honor the Lord for seven days on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, once you have harvested your crops. The first day and the eighth day are Sabbaths of complete rest. 40 On the first day you are to gather branches from large trees, from palm trees, from leafy trees and of river willows, and celebrate before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You are to hold this festival to honor the Lord for seven days every year. This regulation is for all time and for all future generations.
42 You are to live in temporary shelters†Made from the tree branches mentioned in verse 40. for seven days. Every Israelite born in the country must live in shelters, 43 so that your descendants will remember that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I led them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
44 So Moses told the Israelites all about the Lord's festivals.

- Leviticus
- <
- 23
- >

*23:27 “Deny yourselves”: this is usually taken to mean fasting and the avoidance of pleasures.

†23:42 Made from the tree branches mentioned in verse 40.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher