Leviticus

Feasts of the Lord

The Lord spoke to Moses:

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: You proclaim holy assemblies on the appointed feasts of the Lord, which are these:

The Sabbath

After six days of work, there is a Sabbath of complete rest on the seventh day, a holy assembly when no work shall be done; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your houses.

Then there are the appointed feasts of the Lord at fixed times for them when you are to proclaim holy assemblies.

Passover

At twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month is the Lord’s Passover.

And on the fifteenth day of this month, it is the Lord’s feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days, you shall eat bread without leaven.

On the first day, there will be a sacred assembly, and no work will be done.

For seven days, you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord, and on the seventh day, you shall hold a sacred assembly and do no work.

The First Sheaf

The Lord spoke to Moses and said:

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I will give you, and you reap its harvest, you will bring to the priest a bundle, the firstfruits of your harvest.

He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.

The day you wave the sheaf, you shall sacrifice a lamb without defect, born that year, as a burnt offering to the Lord.

And the grain offering accompanying it shall be two-tenths of a measure of fine flour mixed with oil, offered by fire to the Lord, a sweet-smelling offering, along with its drink offering of a quarter of a measure of wine.

You shall eat neither bread nor grain, whether roasted or new, until you bring the offering to your God.

This is to be an everlasting ordinance for all generations throughout your dwellings.

The First Fruits

From the day after the Sabbath, when you bring the sheaf of offering, you are to count seven full weeks.

The day after the seventh Sabbath will be the fiftieth day, and you are to offer the Lord a new offering.

You must bring bread from your homes to present as an offering—two loaves, made of two-tenths of wheaten flour baked with leaven; these are first fruits for the Lord.

In addition to the bread, you must offer seven one-year-old lambs without any defects, a young bull, and two rams as a burnt offering to the Lord, along with a grain offering and drink offering, as a sweet-smelling offering to the Lord.

You are also to offer a goat as a sin offering and two one-year-old lambs as a peace offering.

The priest shall present them before the Lord with the gesture of offering and the bread of the firstfruits. These, along with the two lambs, are holy things for the Lord and shall belong to the priest.

This same day, you are to hold an assembly. This will be a sacred assembly for you; you shall do no work at all.

This is a lasting law for your descendants wherever you live.

When you gather the harvest in your country, you must not harvest to the edge of your field, and you must not collect the gleanings of the harvest. You should leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am the Lord your God.

New Year

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: The first day of the seventh month shall be a day of rest for you, a sacred assembly proclaimed with a trumpet call.

You must not do any work of a worker and offer a burnt offering to the Lord.”

Day of Atonement

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

“The tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. You are to hold a sacred assembly. You must fast and offer a burnt offering to the Lord.

You are not to do any work that day, for it is the Day of Atonement, on which the rite of atonement will be performed over you before the Lord your God.

Indeed, anyone who fails to fast that day shall be outlawed from his people;

anyone who works that day I will remove from his people.

No work must be done—this is a perpetual law for your descendants wherever you live.

This is to be a day of Sabbath rest for you. You must fast; from the evening of the ninth day of the month to the following evening, you must cease to work.

Feast of Tabernacles

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them:

The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of Tents for the Lord, lasting seven days.

The first day, you shall hold an assembly; you must do no work as a worker.

For seven days, you must offer a burnt offering to the Lord. On the eighth day, you are to hold a sacred assembly and offer a burnt offering to the Lord. It is a day of solemn assembly on which you shall do no work as a worker.

These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, during which you are to proclaim holy assemblies to offer fire offerings, including burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings to the Lord, according to the rituals for each day.

In addition to the Sabbaths of the Lord, also remember the presents, along with the votive and voluntary gifts you present to the Lord.

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have harvested the produce of the land, you are to celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days. On the first and eighth days, there shall be a complete rest.

On the first day, you shall take choice fruits, palm branches, boughs of leafy trees and willows from the riverbank, and for seven days you shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God.

You are to celebrate a feast for the Lord in this manner for seven days every year. This is a perpetual law for your descendants.

You are to keep this feast in the seventh month. For seven days, you are to live in tents and shelters: all natives of Israel must live in tents and shelters,

so that your descendants may know that I made the Israelites live in tents when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

These are the regulations that Moses gave to the sons of Israel concerning the feasts of the Lord.