Leviticus 23

God spoke to Moses,

“Tell the Israelite people: I have appointed these sacred festivals. You must announce when the people should gather together to worship me.

You may work for six days, but the seventh day is a special day of complete rest. You must gather together to worship me. You must not do any work on that day. This is a Sabbath to honor God wherever you live. \*

These are the special times that I have chosen, the holy gatherings that you must announce at their proper times.

In the first month, on the fourteenth day at twilight, {you must celebrate} the Passover to {honor} God.

On the fifteenth day of this same month is the Festival of Unleavened Bread to {honor} God. For seven days you must eat bread {that you made} without yeast.

On the first day you must gather together for a holy meeting. You must not do any regular work.

For seven days you must bring offerings to God. On the seventh day you must gather again for a holy meeting. You must not do any regular work.” \*

God spoke to Moses,

“Tell the Israelite people: When you enter the land that I am giving you and harvest your crops, you must bring a bundle of the first grain you harvest to the priest.

The priest will lift up the bundle {to present it} to God so that God will accept your gift. The priest must do this on the day after the Sabbath.

On the day you present the bundle of grain, you must also sacrifice a one-year-old male lamb that has no defects as a burnt offering to God. \*

With it {you must also bring} a grain offering of four liters of fine flour mixed with olive oil as an offering to God. It will make an aroma he enjoys. {You must also bring} one liter of wine as a drink offering.

On that day, you must not eat any bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until you have brought this offering to your God. This is a rule that will continue forever for all your descendants, wherever you live. \*

Count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath when you brought the bundle of grain as an offering.

Count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then bring a new grain offering to God.

At home, {each family must} bake two loaves of bread using yeast and four liters of fine flour. {Take them to the priest} and he will lift them up high to dedicate them to God. This will be the first offering to God from your harvest. \*

Along with the bread, present seven one-year-old male lambs with no defects, one young bull, and two rams. Burn them completely {on the altar} to God. They and the grain offering and drink offerings are a present for God and will make a pleasing aroma for God.

You must also offer one male goat as a purifying sacrifice and two one-year-old male lambs as a fellowship sacrifice.

The priest will lift up these two lamb offerings {high to dedicate them} to God. He will also offer the loaves of bread that were baked from the first wheat that you harvest. Those offerings are sacred to God, but they are for the priests {to eat}. \*

On that same day announce that the people must gather together for a holy meeting. You must not do any regular work. This is a rule that will continue forever for all your descendants, wherever you live. \*

When you harvest your crops, do not harvest all the way to the edges of your fields. Do not pick up the grain that falls on the ground. Leave it for poor people and foreigners. Remember: I am God your God.” \*

God spoke to Moses,

“Tell the Israelite people: On the first day of the seventh month, you must have a special day of rest. You must gather together for a holy meeting {when you hear} the trumpet blast.

You must not do any regular work {on that day}. Instead you must bring a present to God.” \*

God spoke to Moses,

“On the tenth day of this seventh month you must gather together for a holy meeting. Show that you are sorry for sinning {by not eating}. Bring a food present to God. This will be a special day for asking God to forgive you for the sins that you have committed.

Because on that day {the priests} will offer sacrifices to God your God to ask him to forgive your sins, you must not do any work all day. \*

You must expel from your group and from the Israelite nation anyone who does not show that he is sorry for sinning {by not eating} on that day.

I will kill anyone who does any work on that day, right in the middle of his family!

You must not work at all! You and all your descendants must always obey these commands, wherever you live.

That day you must all rest completely. Also, you must {not eat} to show that you are sorry for having sinned. Rest from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the evening of the tenth day of the month.” \*

God spoke to Moses,

“Tell the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Shelters. This festival to honor God will last for seven days.

On the first day you must gather together for a holy meeting. You must not do any regular work.

On each of the seven days of this festival, you must bring food presents to God. On the eighth day you must gather together again for a holy meeting and bring another food present to God. This is a special gathering. You must not do any regular work. \*

(To summarize, these are the festivals that God has appointed. You must announce that these are holy meetings in order to give presents to God. You will bring these: animal presents that you will burn completely, presents you make from flour, presents {to promise friendship with God}, and presents of wine. Bring each present on the day that God commanded.

You must celebrate these festivals in addition to worshiping God on the Sabbath days. You must give God all those offerings in addition to his regular presents, the presents that people give when they solemnly promise to do something, and any presents that people give to God voluntarily.) \*

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have harvested your crops, be sure to celebrate the Festival of Shelters to honor God for seven days. Rest completely on the first day and on the eighth day.

On the first day, take the best fruit from your trees, palm branches, leafy branches, and willow branches from the riverbank. Celebrate with joy before God your God for seven days. \*

Celebrate this festival to honor God for seven days each year. You must celebrate it in the seventh month. You and all your descendants must always obey these commands.

During the seven days of that festival, all of you people who have been Israelites all of your lives must live in shelters.

That will remind your descendants that I made their ancestors live in shelters after I rescued them from Egypt. Do not forget that I, God your God, {am the one who is commanding this}.” \*

So Moses told the Israelites about all these special times that God had chosen. \*