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Deuteronomy 16

Deuteronomy 16 orders Israel’s worship and public life around YHWH’s deliverance, provision, and demand for justice.

Moses instructs Israel to mark its life in the land with feasts at the place YHWH will choose. Passover recalls the escape from Egypt; the feasts of weeks and booths mark the harvest with offerings and shared joy. Servants, foreigners, orphans, and widows are included in the celebrations. Moses then turns to local courts, requiring judges to refuse bribes and uphold justice. The closing commands forbid rival objects of worship beside YHWH’s altar.

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1Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the LORD your God; for in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night.
2You shall sacrifice the Passover to the LORD your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
3You shall eat no leavened bread with it. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste) that you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life.
4No yeast shall be seen with you in all your borders seven days; neither shall any of the meat, which you sacrifice the first day at evening, remain all night until the morning.
5You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you;
6but at the place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at evening, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came out of Egypt.
7You shall roast and eat it in the place which the LORD your God chooses. In the morning you shall return to your tents.
8Six days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD your God. You shall do no work.
9You shall count for yourselves seven weeks. From the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain you shall begin to count seven weeks.
10You shall keep the feast of weeks to the LORD your God with a tribute of a free will offering of your hand, which you shall give according to how the LORD your God blesses you.
11You shall rejoice before the LORD your God: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, in the place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
12You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt. You shall observe and do these statutes.
13You shall keep the feast of booths seven days, after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and from your wine press.
14You shall rejoice in your feast, you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates.
15You shall keep a feast to the LORD your God seven days in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your increase and in all the work of your hands, and you shall be altogether joyful.
16Three times in a year all of your males shall appear before the LORD your God in the place which he chooses: in the feast of unleavened bread, in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths. They shall not appear before the LORD empty.
17Every man shall give as he is able, according to the LORD your God’s blessing which he has given you.
18You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
19You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.
20You shall follow that which is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which the LORD your God gives you.
21You shall not plant for yourselves an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the LORD your God’s altar, which you shall make for yourselves.
22Neither shall you set yourself up a sacred stone which the LORD your God hates.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Deuteronomy 16:19The ban on bribes exposes how gifts can corrupt judgment, even among people known for wisdom and righteousness.
Deuteronomy 16:11Joy before YHWH includes the whole household and those without secure standing or support in Israel.
Deuteronomy 16:16The three annual gatherings bind Israel’s calendar to worship at God’s chosen place, with offerings from his provision.
Where this chapter reaches

Exodus shares the Passover remembrance of deliverance from Egypt and the commands for three annual feasts, linking Israel’s worship to God’s saving act and provision. Proverbs and Isaiah share this chapter’s concern for justice, condemning bribes and the corruption of judgment.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What place do remembrance and shared joy have in your response to God’s provision?

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What stands out to you about placing commands for honest courts beside commands for worship?

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Questions people ask about Deuteronomy 16

What are the three feasts in Deuteronomy 16?

The chapter names the feast of unleavened bread, associated with Passover, the feast of weeks, and the feast of booths. Passover recalls departure from Egypt. Weeks follows seven weeks counted from the start of grain harvesting, while booths follows the gathering of grain and wine. All require gathering at YHWH’s chosen place.

Where is the place God chooses in Deuteronomy 16?

The chapter does not name a city or sanctuary. It describes a place YHWH will choose for his name to dwell, where Israel must bring sacrifices and gather for the feasts. Passover sacrifice is forbidden within their own towns; the choice of worship site belongs to God.

What does Deuteronomy 16 say about justice and bribes?

Moses commands Israel to appoint judges and officers in its towns and requires righteous judgment. Verse 19 forbids distorted justice, favoritism, and bribes, explaining that bribes corrupt even the wise and righteous. Verse 20 connects the pursuit of justice with Israel’s life and inheritance in the land God gives.

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Deuteronomy · 34 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).