Leviticus Chapter 23

Sabbaths and Festivals

^1-2 The LORD told Moses to tell Israel,

Sabbaths

“The LORD has appointed these times: ³ six days you can work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for complete rest, a holy convocation. It’s a Sabbath to the LORD wherever you live.

⁴ “These are his appointed times, holy convocations that you’ll declare at their appointed times. ⁵ The fourteenth day, first month at twilight is the LORD’s Passover. ⁶ Then on the fifteenth, there’s a Festival of Unleavened Bread to him. Eat bread without yeast for a week. ⁷ The first day, hold a holy convocation; don’t work. ⁸ Present an offering by fire to the LORD for a week. On the seventh day, hold a holy convocation; don’t work.”

Lev 23:1-8

Firstfruits

^9-10 The LORD told Moses to say to Israel,

“When you harvest the land I’m giving you, take a bundle of the first part of the harvest to the priest. ¹¹ The day after Sabbath he’ll wave it back and forth in front of the LORD for you to be accepted. ¹² When you wave it, offer a male lamb a year old without defect for a burnt offering. ¹³ Its grain offering will be .22 bushel ^{.2 ephah} of fine flour mixed with olive oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a pleasing aroma, with its liquid offering, 3pts ^{¼ hin} of wine. ¹⁴ Before you take the offering to your God, don’t eat bread or roasted grain from the new growth. It’s an ongoing permanent statute wherever you live.

Lev 23:9-14

Feast of Weeks

¹⁵ “Count seven Sabbaths from the day after the Sabbath when you brought the bundle for the wave offering. ¹⁶ Count 50 days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then present a new grain offering to the LORD. ¹⁷ Take in 2 loaves of bread for a wave offering, made from .22 bushel ^{.2 ephah}. They’ll consist of fine flour baked with yeast as the first of the harvest to the LORD.

¹⁸ Along with the bread, present 7 year-old male lambs without defect, a bull from the herd, and 2 rams. They’ll be a burnt offering along with their grain offering and liquid offerings. It’s an offering by fire of an aroma pleasing to the LORD. ¹⁹ Also offer 1 male goat for a sin offering and 2 yearling male lambs for a peace offering. ²⁰ The priest will wave them with the bread from the first part of the harvest for a wave offering with 2 lambs in front of the LORD. They’re holy to the LORD for the priest. ²¹ On that same day, make a proclamation. Hold a holy convocation. Don’t work. It’s an ongoing permanent statute wherever you live.

²² “When you harvest, don’t harvest the corners of your field or gather the gleanings from your harvest. Leave them for the poor and foreigners. I’m the LORD your God.”                                     

Lev 23:15-22

Feast of Trumpets

^23-24 Again the LORD told Moses to tell Israel,

“The first day, seventh month, hold a complete rest, a reminder by blowing bugles, a holy convocation. ²⁵ Don’t work but present an offering by fire to the LORD.”                                                

Lev 23:23-25

Day of Atonement

²⁶ The LORD told Moses,

^27-28 “The tenth day, seventh month, is The Day of Atonement, a holy convocation. Fast and don’t work; present an offering by fire to the LORD to atone for yourselves to the LORD your God. ²⁹ Any of you that won’t fast ³⁰ and refrain from working that day, I’ll destroy from among the people. ³¹ It’s a permanent statute wherever you live. ³² On the ninth of the month at evening, rest till the next evening.”                                                                                          

Lev 23:26-32

Feast of Tabernacle

^33-34 Again the LORD told Moses to tell Israel,

“The fifteenth day, seventh month is the Festival of Booths to the LORD for a week. ³⁵ The first day is a holy convocation. Don’t do any kind of work. ³⁶ For a week, present an offering by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day, hold a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the LORD.

³⁷ “These are the LORD’s scheduled holidays that you’re to declare as holy convocations, to present burnt offerings to the LORD, grain offerings, sacrifices, and liquid offerings, each day’s matter as prescribed. ³⁸ They’re in addition to the ones on the LORD’s Sabbaths.

Lev 23:33-38

³⁹ “The fifteenth day, seventh month, when you’ve gathered your crops, celebrate the LORD’s festival for a week. Rest on the first and eighth days. ^40-41 On the first day, take the foliage from beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows by the stream. Every year celebrate a festival to the LORD your God for a week. It’s an ongoing permanent statute for the seventh month. ⁴² The native-born in Israel will live in booths for a week ⁴³ to remind your generations that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I’m the LORD your God.”

⁴⁴ Moses declared to Israel the LORD’s specified holidays.                                             

Lev 23:39-44