New King James Version
Exodus 23:17
17“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.
Exodus 23:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God.
- New International Version (NIV)“Three times a year all the men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord God.
- New Living Translation (NLT)At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the Lord.
Context of Exodus 23:17
15You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); 16and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field. “Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord God. 18“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning. 19The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
Read all of Exodus 23Exodus 23:17 word by word
שָׁלֹ֥שׁ פְּעָמִ֖ים בַּשָּׁנָ֑ה יֵרָאֶה֙ כָּל־זְכ֣וּרְךָ֔ אֶל־פְּנֵ֖י הָאָדֹ֥ן׀ יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
- timesפַּ֫עַםpa‛am pa‛ămâh · beatH6471
- in the yearשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
- all thy malesזָכוּרzâkûr · maleH2138
- shall appearרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- the Lordאָדוֹן'âdôn 'âdôn · lordH113
- Godיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
Cross-references for Exodus 23:17
- Exodus 34:23“Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 12:5“But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.
- Deuteronomy 16:16“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.
- Deuteronomy 31:11when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing.
- Psalms 84:7They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.
- Luke 2:42And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.
Commentaries on Exodus 23:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17All thy males - Old men, sick men, male idiots, and male children under thirteen years of age, excepted; for so the Jewish doctors understand this command.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14-17Verses 14-17 This is the first mention of the three great Yearly Festivals. The feast of Unleavened bread, in its connection with the Paschal Lamb, is spoken of in Exodus 34:23), and that he should take with him an offering for Yahweh, presenting himself before his King with his tribute in his hand. That this condition belonged to all the feasts, though it is here stated only in regard to the Passover, cannot be doubted. See Deuteronomy 16:16. Exodus…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-19Verses 10-19 Every seventh year the land was to rest. They must not plough or sow it; what the earth produced of itself, should be eaten, and not laid up. This law seems to have been intended to teach dependence on Providence, and God's faithfulness in sending the larger increase while they kept his appointments. It was also typical of the heavenly rest, when all earthly labours, cares, and interests shall cease for ever. All respect to the gods of the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-17God commanded that every man in Israel must appear before him three times each year (23:17). They must appear at the tabernacle (also called the Tent of Meeting). While Israel camped around the Tent of Meeting in the wilderness, this command was not difficult to obey. The people lived close to the tabernacle. Later, after Israel settled in the promised land, many people lived far from the Tent of Meeting and later from the temple in Jerusalem. Travel…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1814-18. Three times ... keep a feast ... in the year--This was the institution of the great religious festivals--"The feast of unleavened bread," or the passover--"the feast of harvest," or pentecost--"the feast of ingathering," or the feast of tabernacles, which was a memorial of the dwelling in booths in the wilderness, and which was observed in the seventh month (Ex 12:2). All the males were enjoined to repair to the tabernacle and afterwards the…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 23:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries