Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 309
16:1-16
D e u teronom y
297
“In honor of the Lord your God, celebrate the Passover each year in the
early spring, in the month of Abib, for that was the month in which the
Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. Your Passover sacrifice
may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the
Lord your God at the designated place of worship—the place he chooses
for his name to be honored. Eat it with bread made without yeast. For
seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—
so that as long as you live you will remember the day you departed from
Egypt. Let no yeast be found in any house throughout your land for those
seven days. And when you sacrifice the Passover lamb on the evening of
the first day, do not let any of the meat remain until the next morning.
“You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of the towns that the
Lord your God is giving you. You must offer it only at the designated
place of w
orship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to
be honored. Sacrifice it there in the evening as the sun goes down on the
anniversary of your exodus from Egypt. Roast the lamb and eat it in the
place the Lord your God chooses. Then you may go back to your tents
the next morning. For the next six days you may not eat any bread made
with yeast. On the seventh day proclaim another holy day in honor of the
Lord your God, and no work may be done on that day.
“Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the grain at
the time of harvest. Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest to honor the
Lord your God. Bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you have received from him. This is a time to celebrate before the
Lord your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his
name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male
and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you. Remember that you were once
slaves in Egypt, so be careful to obey all these decrees.
“You must observe the Festival of Shelters for seven days at the end of
the harvest season, after the grain has been threshed and the grapes have
been pressed. This festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your
sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows from your towns. For seven days you must
celebrate this festival to honor the Lord your God at the place he chooses,
for it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success
in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all.
“Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the
Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of
Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord
your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the
