Deuteronomy 16:11-14

16:11 You shall rejoice before him ¹  – you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages, ²  the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows among you – in the place where the Lord chooses to locate his name. 16:12 Furthermore, remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so be careful to observe these statutes.

The Festival of Temporary Shelters

16:13 You must celebrate the Festival of Temporary Shelters ³  for seven days, at the time of the grain and grape harvest. ⁴  16:14 You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages. ⁵ 

[16:11]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.

[16:11]  ² tn Heb “gates.”

[16:13]  ³ tn The Hebrew phrase חַג הַסֻּכֹּת (khag hassukot, “festival of huts” or “festival of shelters”) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is now preferable to the traditional “tabernacles” (KJV, ASV, NIV) in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. Clearer is the English term “shelters” (so NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), but this does not reflect the temporary nature of the living arrangement. This feast was a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt, suggesting that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.

[16:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “when you gather in your threshing-floor and winepress.”

[16:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “in your gates.”