Updated on

DEU

Deuteronomy 16 - Simple English

OriginalSimple EnglishSimpleNew Summary

Read Deuteronomy Chapter 16

Up and down arrows move from one verse to the next.

1Keep the month of Abib, and hold the Passover to the LORD your God. For in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.

2So you shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place the LORD will choose to put his name there.

3You shall eat no leavened bread with it. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of suffering, for you came out of the land of Egypt in a hurry. In this way you will remember the day you came out of the land of Egypt, all the days of your life.

4No leavened bread shall be seen with you anywhere in your land for seven days. And none of the meat that you sacrifice in the evening of the first day shall be left all night until the morning.

5You may not sacrifice the Passover inside any of your gates, which the LORD your God gives you.

6But at the place which the LORD your God will choose to put his name in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, at the time when you came out of Egypt.

7You shall roast it and eat it in the place which the LORD your God will choose. Then in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents.

8For six days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work on it.

9You shall count seven weeks for yourself. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the corn.

10Then you shall keep the feast of weeks to the LORD your God with a gift, a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give to the LORD your God, in keeping with how the LORD your God has blessed you.

11You shall be glad before the LORD your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite who is inside your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are among you, in the place which the LORD your God has chosen to put his name there.

12And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt. You shall keep these laws and do them.

13You shall keep the feast of tabernacles for seven days, after you have gathered in your corn and your wine.

14You shall be glad at your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, who are inside your gates.

15For seven days you shall keep a solemn feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD will choose. For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and so you shall surely be glad.

16Three times in a year all your males shall come before the LORD your God in the place which he will choose: at the feast of unleavened bread, at the feast of weeks, and at the feast of tabernacles. And they shall not come before the LORD empty-handed.

17Every man shall give as he is able, in keeping with the blessing of the LORD your God which he has given you.

18You shall appoint judges and officers for yourself in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, throughout your tribes. And they shall judge the people with just judgment.

19You shall not twist judgment. You shall not show favour to anyone, and you shall not take a bribe. For a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and twists the words of the righteous.

20You shall follow what is completely just, so that you may live and take as yours the land which the LORD your God gives you.

21You shall not plant for yourself a grove of any trees near the altar of the LORD your God, which you shall make for yourself.

22And you shall not set up for yourself any image, which the LORD your God hates.

You are readingSimple English

Explanation

Deuteronomy 16

In short

This chapter sets out three yearly festivals the Israelites must observe to remember God's deliverance and to give him thanks for harvests. It also gives rules for judges who must decide disputes fairly and without taking bribes, and forbids certain religious practices near God's altar.

Context

Moses is addressing the Israelites before they enter the land God promised them. He has been laying out the laws they must follow once they settle there. This chapter comes after rules about slaves and firstborn animals, and before laws about cities of refuge.

What the text says

Verses 1-8 command the Passover and Unleavened Bread festival. It must be kept in the month of Abib, with sacrifices from the flock and herd at a place God will choose. No leavened bread is to be eaten for seven days, and no meat from the Passover sacrifice may remain until morning. The seventh day is a solemn assembly with no work.

Verses 9-12 command the Feast of Weeks. Count seven weeks from when harvest begins, then keep a festival with freewill offerings. Everyone must rejoice there: children, servants, Levites, strangers, orphans, and widows. This is to remember being slaves in Egypt.

Verses 13-15 command the Feast of Tabernacles after gathering crops and wine. Again, all these groups must rejoice together for seven days at God's chosen place.

Verse 16-17 state that all males must appear before the Lord three times yearly at these feasts, and each must give a gift according to what he can afford.

Verses 18-20 command appointing judges in every town who must judge justly, show no favoritism, and refuse bribes, because gifts blind even the wise and twist justice.

Verses 21-22 forbid planting a grove of trees near God's altar or setting up any image, which God hates.

Takeaways

  • Regular feasts bind a community together through shared worship and shared memory of God's acts.
  • Justice in courts must be kept separate from personal relationships, money, or influence.
  • Worship practices must be cleansed of elements God rejects.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.

Need words for what you are living?

Describe it and receive a prayer written for you, with verses to hold on to.

Write a prayer