Deuteronomy 16 Summary

Deuteronomy 16 opens with detailed instructions for keeping the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the month of Abib, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, to be observed at the central place God would choose for his name. Moses then prescribes the Feast of Weeks, counted seven weeks from the first grain harvest, and the Feast of Tabernacles, celebrated after the ingathering of crops—both to be marked by joyful freewill offerings before the LORD, inclusive of servants, Levites, strangers, the fatherless, and widows. The chapter establishes that all males are to appear before the LORD at the chosen place three times annually for these feasts, and no one is to come empty-handed. The final verses shift to civil order, commanding the appointment of judges and officers who must pursue justice impartially, refuse bribes, and refrain from planting sacred groves or erecting images beside the LORD's altar.