Deuteronomy 16

1 Keep the month of the new fruit, {Heb. of Abib} and thou shalt do the passover unto the LORD thy God; for in the month of the new fruit the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.

2 Thou shalt, therefore, sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the sheep and the cows, in the place which the LORD shall choose to cause his name to dwell therein.

3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou didst come forth out of the land of Egypt in haste; that thou may remember the day when thou didst come forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.

4 And there shall be no leavened bread seen in thee within all thy borders for seven days; neither shall any of the flesh which thou didst sacrifice the evening of the first day remain all night until the morning.

5 Thou may not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates (or within any of thy towns) which the LORD thy God gives thee

6 but at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause his name to dwell in; there thou shalt sacrifice the passover in the evening, at the going down of the sun, at the appointed time when thou came forth out of Egypt.

7 And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, and thou shalt turn in the morning and return unto thy tabernacles.

8 Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God; thou shalt do no work in this.

9 Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee; begin to number the seven weeks from such time as thou shalt begin to put the sickle to the grain.

10 And thou shalt do the solemn feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God; out of the voluntary abundance of thy hand thou shalt give, according as the LORD thy God has blessed thee.

11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God has chosen to place his name there.

12 And thou shalt remember that thou wast a slave in Egypt; therefore thou shalt keep and do these statutes.

13 Thou shalt observe the solemn feast of the tabernacles seven days after thou hast gathered in the harvest of thy threshing floor and thy winepress.

14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy solemn feast, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, that are within thy gates (or within thy towns).

15 Seven days shalt thou celebrate a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose; because the LORD thy God shall have blessed thee in all thy fruits and in all the works of thine hands, therefore, thou shalt truly be glad.

16 Three times each year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose: in the solemn feast of unleavened bread and in the solemn feast of weeks and in the solemn feast of the tabernacles. And they shall not appear before the LORD empty,

17 Each man with the gift of his hand, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God, which he shall have given thee.

18 Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all the gates of thy cities, which the LORD thy God shall give thee throughout thy tribes, and they shall judge the people with just (and righteous) judgment.

19 Thou shalt not twist that which is right; thou shalt not respect persons neither take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.

20 Thou shalt follow justice and righteousness, that thou may live and inherit the land which the LORD thy God gives thee.

21 Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.

22 Neither shalt thou set thee up any image, which the LORD thy God hates.

Deuteronomy 16 Commentary

Chapter 16

The yearly feasts. (1-17) Of judges, Groves and images forbidden. (18-22)

Verses 1-17 The laws for the three yearly feasts are here repeated; that of the Passover, that of the Pentecost, that of Tabernacles; and the general law concerning the people's attendance. Never should a believer forget his low estate of guilt and misery, his deliverance, and the price it cost the Redeemer; that gratitude and joy in the Lord may be mingled with sorrow for sin, and patience under the tribulations in his way to the kingdom of heaven. They must rejoice in their receivings from God, and in their returns of service and sacrifice to him; our duty must be our delight, as well as our enjoyment. If those who were under the law must rejoice before God, much more we that are under the grace of the gospel; which makes it our duty to rejoice evermore, to rejoice in the Lord always. When we rejoice in God ourselves, we should do what we can to assist others also to rejoice in him, by comforting the mourners, and supplying those who are in want. All who make God their joy, may rejoice in hope, for He is faithful that has promised.

Verses 18-22 Care is taken for the due administration of justice. All personal regards must be laid aside, so that right is done to all, and wrong to none. Care is taken to prevent following the idolatrous customs of the heathen. Nothing belies God more, or tends more to corrupt the minds of men, than representing and worshipping, by an image, that God, who is an almighty and eternal Spirit, present every where. Alas! even in gospel days, and under a better dispensation, established upon better promises, there is a tendency to set up idols, under one form or another, in the human heart.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 16

This chapter treats of the three grand yearly festivals, of the feast of passover, when, where, and what was to be sacrificed, how to be dressed, and in what manner to be eaten, De 16:1-8, of the feast of pentecost, when to begin it, where and how it was to be observed, De 16:9-12, and of the feast of tabernacles, when, where, and how long it was to be kept, De 16:13-15, which three times in the year all the males were to appear before the Lord, and not empty, De 16:16,17, an order is given for the appointment of judges in the land, to execute judgment, De 16:18-20, and the chapter is closed with a caution against planting groves, and setting up images, De 16:21,22.