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The Passover

16 Observe the month Abib[a] and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for in that month[b] he[c] brought you out of Egypt by night. You must sacrifice the Passover animal[d] (from the flock or the herd) to the Lord your God in the place where he[e] chooses to locate his name. You must not eat any yeast with it; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, as symbolic of affliction,[f] for you came out of Egypt hurriedly. You must do this so you will remember for the rest of your lives the day you came out of the land of Egypt. There must not be a scrap of yeast within your land[g] for seven days, nor can any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until the next morning.[h] You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of your villages[i] that the Lord your God is giving you, but you must sacrifice it[j] in the evening in[k] the place where he[l] chooses to locate his name, at sunset, the time of day you came out of Egypt. You must cook[m] and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses; you may return the next morning to your tents. 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.[n]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 16:1 sn The month Abib, later called Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esth 3:7), corresponds to March-April in the modern calendar.
  2. Deuteronomy 16:1 tn Heb “in the month Abib.” The demonstrative “that” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  3. Deuteronomy 16:1 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  4. Deuteronomy 16:2 tn Heb “sacrifice the Passover” (so NASB). The word “animal” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  5. Deuteronomy 16:2 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in the previous verse.
  6. Deuteronomy 16:3 tn Heb “bread of affliction.” Their affliction was part of the cause of why they ate this kind of bread. It could be understood as “the sort of bread made under oppressive circumstances.” The kind of bread was used to symbolize and remind of their affliction.
  7. Deuteronomy 16:4 tn Heb “leaven must not be seen among you in all your border.”
  8. Deuteronomy 16:4 tn Heb “remain all night until the morning” (so KJV, ASV). This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  9. Deuteronomy 16:5 tn Heb “gates.”
  10. Deuteronomy 16:6 tn Heb “the Passover.” The translation uses a pronoun to avoid redundancy in English.
  11. Deuteronomy 16:6 tc The MT reading אֶל (ʾel, “unto”) before “the place” should, following Smr, Syriac, Targums, and Vulgate, be omitted in favor of ב (bet; בַּמָּקוֹם, bammaqom), “in the place.”
  12. Deuteronomy 16:6 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.
  13. Deuteronomy 16:7 tn The rules that governed the Passover meal are found in Exod 12:1-51, and Deut 16:1-8. The word translated “cook” (בָּשַׁל, bashal) here is translated “boil” in other places (e.g. Exod 23:19, 1 Sam 2:13-15). This would seem to contradict Exod 12:9 where the Israelites are told not to eat the Passover sacrifice raw or boiled. However, 2 Chr 35:13 recounts the celebration of a Passover feast during the reign of Josiah, and explains that the people “cooked (בָּשַׁל, bashal) the Passover sacrifices over the open fire.” The use of בָּשַׁל (bashal) with “fire” (אֵשׁ, ʾesh) suggests that the word could be used to speak of boiling or roasting.
  14. Deuteronomy 16:8 tn The words “on that day” are not in the Hebrew text; they are supplied in the translation for clarification (cf. TEV, NLT).

The Passover(A)

16 Observe the month of Aviv(B) and celebrate the Passover(C) of the Lord your God, because in the month of Aviv he brought you out of Egypt by night. Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name.(D) Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction,(E) because you left Egypt in haste(F)—so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.(G) Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening(H) of the first day remain until morning.(I)

You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the Lord your God gives you except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary[a](J) of your departure from Egypt. Roast(K) it and eat it at the place the Lord your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents. For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly(L) to the Lord your God and do no work.(M)

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 16:6 Or down, at the time of day

16 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God: for in the month of Abib the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.

Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there.

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

And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.

Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee:

But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.

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 go unto thy tents.

Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.

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