Leviticus 23:2–44

²“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals,^a the appointed festivals of the Lord, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.^b

The Sabbath

³“ ‘There are six days when you may work,^c but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest,^d a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work;^e wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.

The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

23:4–8pp—Ex 12:14–20; Nu 28:16–25; Dt 16:1–8

⁴“ ‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times:^{f 5}The Lord’s Passover^g begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.^{h 6}On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Breadⁱ begins; for seven days^j you must eat bread made without yeast. ⁷On the first day hold a sacred assembly^k and do no regular work. ⁸For seven days present a food offering to the Lord.^l And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’ ”

Offering the Firstfruits

⁹The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you^m and you reap its harvest,ⁿ bring to the priest a sheaf^o of the first grain you harvest.^{p 11}He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord^q so it will be accepted^r on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. ¹²On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old^s without defect,^{t 13}together with its grain offering^u of two-tenths of an ephah^av of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering^w of a quarter of a hin^b of wine.^{x 14}You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain,^y until the very day you bring this offering to your God.^z This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come,^a wherever you live.^b

The Festival of Weeks

23:15–22pp—Nu 28:26–31; Dt 16:9–12

¹⁵“ ‘From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. ¹⁶Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath,^c and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. ¹⁷From wherever you live, bring two loaves made of two-tenths of an ephah^d of the finest flour, baked with yeast, as a wave offering of firstfruits^e to the Lord. ¹⁸Present with this bread seven male lambs, each a year old and without defect, one young bull and two rams. They will be a burnt offering to the Lord, together with their grain offerings and drink offerings^f—a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ¹⁹Then sacrifice one male goat for a sin offering^c and two lambs, each a year old, for a fellowship offering. ²⁰The priest is to wave the two lambs before the Lord as a wave offering,^g together with the bread of the firstfruits. They are a sacred offering to the Lord for the priest. ²¹On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly^h and do no regular work.ⁱ This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

²²“ ‘When you reap the harvest^j of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.^k Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.^l I am the Lord your God.’ ”

The Festival of Trumpets

23:23–25pp—Nu 29:1–6

²³The Lord said to Moses, ²⁴“Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly^m commemorated with trumpet blasts.^{n 25}Do no regular work,^o but present a food offering to the Lord.^p’ ”

The Day of Atonement

23:26–32pp—Lev 16:2–34; Nu 29:7–11

²⁶The Lord said to Moses, ²⁷“The tenth day of this seventh month^q is the Day of Atonement.^r Hold a sacred assembly^s and deny yourselves,^d and present a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸Do not do any work^t on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God. ²⁹Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.^{u 30}I will destroy from among their people^v anyone who does any work on that day. ³¹You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance^w for the generations to come, wherever you live. ³²It is a day of sabbath rest^x for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”^y

The Festival of Tabernacles

23:33–43pp—Nu 29:12–39; Dt 16:13–17

³³The Lord said to Moses, ³⁴“Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh^z month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles^a begins, and it lasts for seven days. ³⁵The first day is a sacred assembly;^b do no regular work.^{c 36}For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly^d and present a food offering to the Lord.^e It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.

³⁷(“ ‘These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings^f required for each day. ³⁸These offerings^g are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths^h and^e in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offeringsⁱ you give to the Lord.)

³⁹“ ‘So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival^j to the Lord for seven days;^k the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. ⁴⁰On the first day you are to take branches^l from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees^m—and rejoiceⁿ before the Lord your God for seven days. ⁴¹Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. ⁴²Live in temporary shelters^o for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters ⁴³so your descendants will know^p that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ ”

⁴⁴So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed festivals of the Lord.