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Leviticus 23 - Simple English

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Read Leviticus Chapter 23

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1The LORD spoke to Moses and said,

2"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: These are the feasts of the LORD, which you are to announce as holy gatherings. These are my feasts."

3"Work may be done for six days. But the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, a holy gathering. You must do no work on it. It is the sabbath of the LORD wherever you live."

4"These are the feasts of the LORD, the holy gatherings, which you are to announce at their set times."

5"On the fourteenth day of the first month, in the evening, is the LORD's passover."

6"On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast."

7"On the first day you shall have a holy gathering. You must do no hard work on it."

8"For seven days you shall bring an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the seventh day there is a holy gathering. You must do no hard work on it."

9The LORD spoke to Moses and said,

10"Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you come into the land that I give you, and you reap its harvest, you shall bring to the priest a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest."

11"He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you will be accepted. The priest shall wave it on the day after the sabbath."

12"On the day you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb, a year old and without any flaw, as a burnt offering to the LORD."

13"The grain offering with it shall be two tenth parts of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, a sweet smell. The drink offering with it shall be wine, a fourth part of a hin."

14"You must eat no bread, no roasted grain, and no fresh ears of grain until that very day when you have brought an offering to your God. This is a law for ever through all your generations, wherever you live."

15"From the day after the sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you shall count seven full sabbaths."

16"Count fifty days, up to the day after the seventh sabbath. Then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD."

17"From your homes you shall bring two loaves to be waved, made of two tenth parts of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast. They are the firstfruits to the LORD."

18"With the bread you shall offer seven lambs a year old without any flaw, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire, a sweet smell to the LORD."

19"Then you shall sacrifice one young goat as a sin offering, and two lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings."

20"The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, together with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest."

21"On that very day you shall make a proclamation, so that it may be a holy gathering for you. You must do no hard work. This is a law for ever wherever you live, through all your generations."

22"When you reap the harvest of your land, you must not reap right up to the corners of your field, and you must not gather what is left behind of your harvest. You shall leave it for the poor and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God."

23The LORD spoke to Moses and said,

24"Speak to the children of Israel and say: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath, a day to remember with the blowing of trumpets, a holy gathering."

25"You must do no hard work on it. You shall bring an offering made by fire to the LORD."

26The LORD spoke to Moses and said,

27"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement. It shall be a holy gathering for you. You shall humble yourselves, and bring an offering made by fire to the LORD."

28"You must do no work at all on that day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God."

29"Anyone who does not humble himself on that day shall be cut off from his people."

30"And anyone who does any work on that day, that person I will destroy from among his people."

31"You must do no work of any kind. This is a law for ever through all your generations, wherever you live."

32"It shall be a sabbath of rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves. On the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your sabbath."

33The LORD spoke to Moses and said,

34"Speak to the children of Israel and say: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month the feast of tabernacles to the LORD begins, and it lasts seven days."

35"On the first day there shall be a holy gathering. You must do no hard work on it."

36"For seven days you shall bring an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy gathering, and you shall bring an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly. You must do no hard work on it."

37"These are the feasts of the LORD, which you shall announce as holy gatherings, to bring an offering made by fire to the LORD: a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, each on its own day."

38"These are in addition to the sabbaths of the LORD, and to your gifts, and to all your vows, and to all your freewill offerings that you give to the LORD."

39"Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep a feast to the LORD for seven days. On the first day there shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day a sabbath."

40"On the first day you shall take branches of fine trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows from the brook. You shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days."

41"You shall keep it as a feast to the LORD for seven days each year. This is a law for ever through all your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month."

42"You shall live in shelters for seven days. All who are born Israelites shall live in shelters,"

43"so that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel live in shelters when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God."

44So Moses told the children of Israel about the feasts of the LORD.

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Explanation

Leviticus 23

In short

This chapter sets out the yearly calendar of sacred days and festivals that Israel must observe to worship God. Each observance has its own timing, required rest from work, and offerings, forming the backbone of Israel's religious life throughout the year.

Context

God speaks to Moses to give Israel instructions about the festivals they must keep holy. These are the official times when the community gathers to worship and remember God's acts. The chapter runs through the entire year, beginning with the weekly Sabbath and moving through the spring festivals connected to harvest, then the major observances of the seventh month in autumn.

What the text says

The weekly Sabbath (verse 3) comes first: six days of work, then the seventh day is rest and a holy gathering. The Passover (verse 5) falls on the fourteenth day of the first month, followed immediately by the feast of unleavened bread lasting seven days (verse 6), with no work on the first and seventh days (verses 7-8). When the harvest begins, Israel brings a sheaf of firstfruits to the priest (verse 10), who waves it before God (verse 11). From that day, Israel counts fifty days and then celebrates with a grain offering (verses 15-16) and sacrifices of animals and bread (verses 17-21). This same day becomes a holy convocation with no work permitted (verse 21), and Israel must leave the corners of harvested fields for poor people and foreigners (verse 22). In the seventh month, the first day is a memorial of trumpet blowing, a holy convocation (verse 24). The tenth day is the Day of Atonement (verse 27), requiring affliction of the soul and no work; breaking this brings severe penalty (verses 29-30). The fifteenth day begins the feast of Tabernacles lasting seven days (verse 34), during which Israel dwells in booths (verse 42) to remember that God made them live in booths when leaving Egypt (verse 43). They carry branches of trees and rejoice for seven days (verses 40-41).

Takeaways

  • The year is structured by God around work, rest, and remembrance, with specific days marked by gathering and offerings.
  • These festivals connect present worship to past salvation events, especially the exodus from Egypt.
  • Obedience to these ordinances is presented as a lasting statute binding on all generations.

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.

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