16:1 Observe the month Abib1 and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month2 he3 brought you out of Egypt by night. 16:2 You must sacrifice the Passover animal (from the flock or the herd) to the Lord your God in the place where he4 chooses to locate his name. 16:3 You must not eat any yeast with it; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, symbolic of affliction, for you came out of Egypt hurriedly. You must do this so you will remember for the rest of your life the day you came out of the land of Egypt. 16:4 There must not be a scrap of yeast within your land5 for seven days, nor can any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain overnight.6 16:5 You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of your villages7 that the Lord your God is giving you, 16:6 but you must sacrifice it8 in the evening in9 the place where he10 chooses to locate his name, at sunset, the time you came out of Egypt. 16:7 You must cook11 and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses; you may return in the morning to your tents. 16:8 You must eat bread made without yeast for six days. The seventh day you are to hold an assembly for the Lord your God; you must not do any work on that day.12
The Festival of Weeks
16:9 You must count seven weeks; you must begin to count them13 from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain. 16:10 Then you are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks14 before the Lord your God with the voluntary offering15 that you will bring, in proportion to how he16 has blessed you. 16:11 You shall rejoice before him17—you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites in your villages,18 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 Shelters19 for seven days, at the time of the grain and grape harvest.20 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.21 16:15 You are to celebrate the festival seven days before the Lord your God in the place he22 chooses, for he23 will bless you in all your productivity and in whatever you do;24 so you will indeed rejoice! 16:16 Three times a year all your males must appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Temporary Shelters; and they must not appear before him25 empty-handed. 16:17 Every one of you must give as you are able,26 according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
Provision for Justice
16:18 You must appoint judges and civil servants27 for each tribe in all your villages28 that the Lord your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.29 16:19 You must not pervert justice or show favor. Do not take a bribe, for bribes blind the eyes of the wise and distort30 the words of the righteous.31 16:20 You must pursue justice alone32 so that you may live and inherit the land the Lord your God is giving you.
Examples of Legal Cases
16:21 You must not plant any kind of tree as a sacred Asherah pole33 near the altar of the Lord your God which you build for yourself. 16:22 You must not erect a sacred pillar,34 a thing he35 detests.