Leviticus 23:1-14

Regulations for Israel’s Appointed Times

23:1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies – my appointed times: ¹ 

The Weekly Sabbath

23:3 “‘Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, ²  a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.

The Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread

23:4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time. 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, ³  is a Passover offering to the Lord. 23:6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month ⁴  will be the festival of unleavened bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 23:7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work. ⁵  23:8 You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”

The Presentation of First Fruits

23:9 The Lord spoke to Moses: 23:10 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am about to give to you and you gather in its harvest, ⁶  then you must bring the sheaf of the first portion of your harvest ⁷  to the priest, 23:11 and he must wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for your benefit ⁸  – on the day after the Sabbath the priest is to wave it. ⁹  23:12 On the day you wave the sheaf you must also offer ¹⁰  a flawless yearling lamb ¹¹  for a burnt offering to the Lord, 23:13 along with its grain offering, two tenths of an ephah of ¹²  choice wheat flour ¹³  mixed with olive oil, as a gift to the Lord, a soothing aroma, ¹⁴  and its drink offering, one fourth of a hin of wine. ¹⁵  23:14 You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this very day, ¹⁶  until you bring the offering of your God. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations ¹⁷  in all the places where you live.

[23:2]  ¹ tn Heb “these are them, my appointed times.”

[23:3]  ² tn This is a superlative expression, emphasizing the full and all inclusive rest of the Sabbath and certain festival times throughout the chapter (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 155). Cf. ASV “a sabbath of solemn rest.”

[23:5]  ³ tn Heb “between the two evenings,” perhaps designating the time between the setting of the sun and the true darkness of night. Cf. KJV, ASV “at even”; NAB “at the evening twilight.”

[23:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “to this month.”

[23:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”

[23:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “and you harvest its harvest.”

[23:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “the sheaf of the first of your harvest.”

[23:11]  ⁸ tn Heb “for your acceptance.”

[23:11]  ⁹ sn See Lev 7:30 for a note on the “waving” of a “wave offering.”

[23:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “And you shall make in the day of your waving the sheaf.”

[23:12]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a flawless lamb, a son of its year”; KJV “of the first year”; NLT “a year-old male lamb.”

[23:13]  ¹² sn See the note on Lev 5:11.

[23:13]  ¹³ sn See the note on Lev 2:1.

[23:13]  ¹⁴ sn See the note on Lev 1:9.

[23:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “wine, one fourth of the hin.” A pre-exilic hin is about 3.6 liters (= ca. 1 quart), so one fourth of a hin would be about one cup.

[23:14]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “until the bone of this day.”

[23:14]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “for your generations.”