Deuteronomy 16

1 Observe the month of Abib, when thou shalt keep a passover unto Yahweh thy God, —for in the month of Abib, did Yahweh thy God bring thee forth out of Egypt by night:

“[Each year] honor Yahweh our God by celebrating the Passover [Festival] in the month of Abib [in early spring]. It was on a night in that month that Yahweh rescued your ancestors from Egypt.

2 therefore shalt thou sacrifice a passover unto Yahweh thy God of flock or herd, —in the place which Yahweh shall choose to make a habitation for his name there.

[In order to celebrate that festival], go to the place that Yahweh will choose [for you to worship him], and offer [there one young animal] from your cattle or your sheep to be the Passover sacrifice, to honor Yahweh [MTY].

3 Thou shalt not eat therewith any thing leavened, seven days, shalt thou eat therewith unleavened cakes the bread of humiliation, —for in haste, camest thou forth out of the land of Egypt, that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt, all the days of thy life.

[When you eat the Passover meal], the bread that you eat must not have yeast in it. You must eat this kind of bread, which will be called the bread of suffering/misery, for seven days. This is to help you to remember all during the time that you are alive that when your ancestors left Egypt, [where they were suffering because they were slaves], they left very quickly. [They did not put in yeast and wait for the dough to swell up].

4 And there shall not be seen with thee leaven in any of thy bounds seven days, —neither shall there remain all night of the flesh which thou shalt sacrifice in the evening, on the first day, unto the morning.

[During that festival], you must not have any yeast in any house in your land for seven days. Furthermore, the meat [of the animals] that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day [of the Passover Festival must be eaten during that night]; do not allow any of it to remain until the next day.

5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover, —within any of thine own gates which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee;

“To honor Yahweh our God, you must offer the Passover sacrifice only at the place that he chooses for you [to worship him]; do not offer that sacrifice in any other town in the land that Yahweh is giving to you. Offer that sacrifice when the sun is setting, at the same time of day that your ancestors [started to] leave Egypt.

6 but in the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose to make a habitation for his name, there, shalt thou sacrifice the passover in the evening, —at the going in of the sun, at the very time thou camest forth out of Egypt.

7 Therefore shalt thou cook and eat it in the place which Yahweh thy God, shall choose, —and shalt turn away in the morning, and go thy way unto thy tents.

Boil [the meat] and eat it at the place [of worship] that Yahweh our God chooses. The next morning, you may return to your tents.

8 Six days, shalt thou eat unleavened cakes, —and, on the seventh day, shall be a closing feast, unto Yahweh thy God, thou shalt do no work.

Each day for six days the bread that you eat must have no yeast in it. On the seventh day, you must all gather to worship Yahweh our God. [It will be a day of rest]; you must not do any work on that day.”

9 Seven weeks, shalt thou count unto thee, —from the beginning of thrusting in the sickle into the standing corn, shalt thou begin to count, seven weeks.

“[Each year], from the day that you start to harvest your grain, count seven weeks.

10 So shalt thou keep the festival of weeks unto Yahweh thy God, in the measure of the freewill offering of thy hand which thou shalt give, —as Yahweh thy God shall bless thee.

Then, to honor Yahweh our God, celebrate the Harvest Festival. Do that by bringing to him an offering [of grain]. Yahweh has blessed you [by causing it to grow in your fields during that year]. If you had a big harvest, bring a big offering. If you had a small harvest, bring a small offering.

11 So shalt thou rejoice before Yahweh thy God—thou, and thy son and thy daughter and thy servant and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and the sojourner, and the fatherless and the widow who are in thy midst, —in the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose, to make a habitation for his name there.

[Each married couple] should be joyful in the presence of Yahweh. Their children, their servants, the descendants of Levi [who are in that town], and the foreigners, orphans, and widows [who are living among you], should also be joyful. Bring those offerings to the place of worship that Yahweh will choose.

12 So shalt thou remember that a servant, thou wast in Egypt, —and shalt observe and do these statutes.

[“When you celebrate these festivals] by obeying these commands, remember that your ancestors were previously slaves in Egypt.”

13 The festival of booths, shalt thou keep for thyself seven days, —when thou hast gathered in out of thy threshing-floor and out of thy wine-vat.

“[Each year], after you have threshed all your grain and pressed [the juice from] all your grapes, you must celebrate the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters for seven days.

14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy festival, —thou, and thy son and thy daughter, and thy servant and thy handmaid, and the Levite and the sojourner, and the fatherless and the widow, who are within thy gates.

[Each married couple] along with their children, their servants, the descendants of Levi [who are in that town], and the foreigners, orphans, and widows [who are living among you], should be joyful in the presence of Yahweh.

15 Seven days, shalt thou keep festival unto Yahweh thy God, in the place which Yahweh shall choose, —for Yahweh thy God, will bless thee, in all thine increase and in all the work of thy hands, —therefore shalt thou do nothing but, rejoice.

Honor Yahweh our God by celebrating this festival for seven days in the place that Yahweh chooses [for you to worship him]. You should all be joyful, because Yahweh will have blessed your harvest and all the other work that you have done.

16 Three times in the year, shall each one of thy males see the face of Yahweh thy God, in the place which he shall choose, at the festival of unleavened cakes and at the festival of weeks and at the festival of booths, —and none shall see the face of Yahweh empty-handed:

“So, each year all of you Israeli men must gather [with your families] to worship Yahweh our God at the place that he will choose, [to celebrate three festivals]: The Passover Festival, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters. Each of you men must bring [LIT] an offering [for Yahweh to these festivals]

17 every man according as his hand can give, —according to the blessing of Yahweh thy God, which he hath bestowed upon thee.

in proportion to the blessings that Yahweh has given you [during that year].”

18 Judges and officers, shalt thou appoint thee in all thy gates, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, by thy tribes, —and they shall judge the people, with righteous judgment,

“Appoint judges and other officials throughout your tribes, in all the towns [in the land] that Yahweh our God is giving to you. They must judge people fairly/justly.

19 Thou shalt not wrest judgment, thou shalt not take note of faces, —nor shalt thou accept a bribe, for the bribe, blindeth the eyes of wise men, and perverteth the words of righteous men.

They must not judge unjustly. They must not favor one person more than another. The judges must not accept bribes, because if a judge accepts a bribe, even if he is wise and honest, it will be very difficult for him to judge fairly [IDM]; [he will do what the person who gave him the bribe wants him to do and declare that] the righteous/innocent people [must be punished].

20 What is right, what is right, shalt thou pursue, —that thou mayest live and possess the land, which, Yahweh thy God, is giving unto thee.

You must be completely fair and just [DOU], in order that you will enter and occupy the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you.”

21 Thou shalt not plant thee, as a sacred stem, any tree, —near unto the altar of Yahweh thy God which thou shalt make for thyself;

“When you make an altar to worship Yahweh our God, do not put next to it any wooden statue [that represents] the goddess Asherah.

22 neither shalt thou set thee up a pillar, —which Yahweh thy God, doth hate.

And do not set up any [stone] pillar [to worship any idol, because] Yahweh hates them.”