Leviticus 23

Laws of Religious Festivals

1The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘1The Lord’s appointed times which you shall 2proclaim as holy convocations--My appointed times are these:

3‘3For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.

4‘These are the 4appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. 55In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month 6at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. 6Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the 7Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall 8not do any laborious work. 8But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’”

9Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and 9reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the Lord. 13Its 10grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the Lord for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a fourth of a 11hin of wine. 14Until this same day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, 12you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new growth. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

15‘13You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. 16You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a 14new grain offering to the Lord. 17You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an 15ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked 16with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. 18Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 19You shall also offer 17one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21On this same day you shall 18make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious 19work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

22‘20When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the Lord your God.’”

23Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘21In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a 22rest, a 23reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25You shall 24not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’”

The Day of Atonement

26The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27“On exactly 25the tenth day of this seventh month is 26the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord. 28You shall not do any work on this same day, for it is a 27day of atonement, 28to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. 29If there is any 29person who will not humble himself on this same day, 30he shall be cut off from his people. 30As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.”

33Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On 31the fifteenth of this seventh month is the 32Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. 35On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall do 33no laborious work of any kind. 3634For seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On 35the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation and present an offering by fire to the Lord; it is an assembly. You shall do no laborious work.

37‘These are 36the appointed times of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the Lord--burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, 37each day’s matter on its own day-- 38besides those of the sabbaths of the Lord, and besides your gifts and besides all your 38votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.

39‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, 39when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a 40rest on the first day and a 41rest on the eighth day. 40Now on the first day you shall take for yourselves the 42foliage of beautiful trees, palm branches and boughs of leafy trees and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41You shall thus celebrate it as a feast to the Lord for seven days in the year. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42You shall 43live 44in booths for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall 45live in booths, 43so that 46your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’” 44So Moses declared to the sons of Israel 47the appointed times of the Lord.