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Levítico 23

VBL · Chapter 23/27

1El Señor le dijo a Moisés,

2“Diles a los israelitas que estas son mis fiestas religiosas, las fiestas del Señor que debes llamar como tiempos sagrados en los que nos reuniremos.

3Tienen seis días para trabajar, pero el séptimo día es un sábado de completo descanso, un día sagrado de reunión. No trabajarán. Es el Sábado del Señor en todos los lugares donde vivas.

4“Estas son las fiestas religiosas del Señor, las reuniones sagradas en las que comieron para anunciar, en su fecha señalada:

5La Pascua del Señor comienza en la tarde del día catorce del primer mes.

6La fiesta del Señor de los panes sin levadura comienza el día quince del primer mes. Durante siete días el pan que coman debe ser hecho sin levadura.

7El primer día se celebra una reunión sagrada. No debes hacer ninguno de sus trabajos habituales.

8Durante siete días presentarás ofrendas de comida al Señor. Habrá una reunión sagrada el séptimo día. No debes hacer nada de tu trabajo habitual”.

9El Señor le dijo a Moisés,

10“Diles a los israelitas que cuando entren en la tierra que yo les doy y recojan sus cosechas, deben llevarle al sacerdote gran parte del grano de las primicias de su cosecha.

11Él agitará la pila de grano ante el Señor para que sea aceptada en su nombre. El sacerdote hará esto el día siguiente al sábado.

12Cuando agites la pila de grano, presentarás al Señor un cordero de un año sin defectos como holocausto,

13junto con su ofrenda de grano de dos décimas de efa de la mejor harina mezclada con aceite de oliva (una ofrenda de comida al Señor para ser aceptada por él) y su ofrenda de bebida de un cuarto de hin de vino.

14No comas pan, grano tostado o grano nuevo hasta el momento en que lleves esta ofrenda a tu Dios. Esta norma es para siempre y para las futuras generaciones en todos los lugares donde vivas.

15“Cuenta siete semanas completas desde el día después del sábado, el día que trajiste la pila de grano como ofrenda ondulada.

16Cuenta cincuenta días hasta el día después del séptimo sábado, y en ese día presenta una ofrenda de grano nuevo al Señor.

17Traigan dos panes de sus casas como ofrenda mecida. Hacedlos de dos décimas de efa de la mejor harina, cocidos con levadura, como primicias para el Señor.

18Además del pan, presenten siete corderos machos de un año sin defectos, un novillo y dos carneros. Serán un holocausto para el Señor, así como sus ofrendas de grano y sus ofrendas de bebida, una ofrenda de comida para el Señor para ser aceptada por él.

19Presenten una cabra macho como ofrenda por el pecado y dos corderos macho de un año como ofrenda de paz.

20El sacerdote agitará los corderos como ofrenda mecida ante el Señor, junto con el pan de las primicias. El pan y los dos corderos son sagrados para el Señor y pertenecen al sacerdote.

21Ese mismo día anunciará una reunión santa, y no deberá hacer ningún trabajo habitual. Este reglamento es para todos los tiempos y para las generaciones futuras, dondequiera que vivan.

22“Cuando coseches los cultivos de tu tierra, no lo hagas hasta los bordes del campo, o recoge lo que se ha perdido. Déjalos para los pobres y los extranjeros. Yo soy el Señor tu Dios”.

23El Señor le dijo a Moisés:

24“Diles a los israelitas que el primer día del séptimo mes deben tener un sábado especial de completo descanso, una reunión santa que se anuncia con el sonido de las trompetas.

25No hagas nada de tu trabajo habitual, sino que debes presentar una ofrenda de comida al Señor”.

26El Señor le dijo a Moisés,

27“El Día de la Expiación es el décimo día de este séptimo mes. Celebrarán una reunión sagrada, negándose a sí mismos, y presentarán una ofrenda de comida al Señor.

28En este día no debes hacer nada de tu trabajo habitual porque es el Día de la Expiación, cuando las cosas se arreglan para ti ante el Señor tu Dios.

29Cualquiera que no practique la el ayuno en este día debe ser expulsado de su pueblo.

30Destruiré a cualquiera de ustedes que haga cualquier trabajo en este día.

31No hagan ningún tipo de trabajo. Este reglamento es para siempre y para las futuras generaciones dondequiera que vivan.

32Será un sábado de completo descanso para ustedes, y ayunarán. Observarán su sábado desde la tarde del noveno día del mes hasta la tarde del día siguiente”.

33El Señor dijo a Moisés,

34“Di a los israelitas que la fiesta de los tabernáculos para honrar al Señor comienza el día quince del séptimo mes y dura siete días.

35El primer día tened una reunión sagrada. No debes hacer nada de tu trabajo habitual.

36Durante siete días presentarás ofrendas de comida al Señor. El octavo día tendrás otra reunión santa y presentarás una ofrenda al Señor. Es una reunión para la adoración. No debes hacer nada de tu trabajo habitual.

37“Estas son las fiestas sagradas del Señor, que anunciarán como reuniones sagradas para presentar ofrendas de comida al Señor. Estas incluyen holocaustos, ofrendas de grano, sacrificios y ofrendas de bebida, cada una de ellas de acuerdo al día específico.

38Todas estas ofrendas son adicionales a las de los sábados del Señor. También son adicionales a tus regalos, a todas tus ofrendas para cumplir promesas, y a todas las ofrendas voluntarias que presentas al Señor.

39“Celebrarán una fiesta en honor del Señor durante siete días, el día quince del séptimo mes, una vez que hayas cosechado sus cosechas. El primer día y el octavo día son sábados de completo descanso.

40El primer día recogerás ramas de árboles grandes, de palmeras, de árboles frondosos y de sauces de río, y celebrarás ante el Señor tu Dios durante siete días.

41Celebrarán esta fiesta para honrar al Señor durante siete días cada año. Este reglamento es para todos los tiempos y para todas las generaciones futuras.

42“Vivirás en refugios temporales por siete días. Todo israelita nacido en el país debe vivir en refugios,

43para que sus descendientes recuerden que yo hice vivir a los israelitas en refugios cuando los saqué de Egipto. Yo soy el Señor tu Dios”.

44Así que Moisés les contó a los israelitas todo sobre las fiestas del Señor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God establishes Israel's complete calendar of annual feasts: the weekly Sabbath, Passover and Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks), the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Explanation

This chapter organizes Israel's entire religious year around seven major celebrations, most tied to the agricultural cycle (harvests) and to the historical memory of the deliverance from Egypt. These feasts served a double purpose: keeping alive the memory of God's action in the people's history and creating regular rhythms of rest, gratitude, and collective spiritual reflection. The Feast of Tabernacles, living in temporary shelters for seven days, physically recalled the wilderness experience, so that future generations would never forget where they came from. Today, even without following the Jewish ritual calendar, the principle remains: setting aside regular times for rest, remembrance, and gratitude strengthens a community's faith.

Fun facts

  • Scholars note that the three great pilgrimage feasts (Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles) had prophetic fulfillment in the New Testament: Jesus died at Passover, the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost (Acts 2), and some see the Feast of Tabernacles linked to the future hope of God's definitive presence with his people (Revelation 21:3, which uses the same Greek word for 'tabernacle').
  • The Feast of Trumpets, on the first day of the seventh month, is the origin of today's Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Levítico 23:1This opening formula introduces Israel’s official calendar of feasts — a chapter that organizes all the year’s sacred dates in one place.
  2. Levítico 23:2“Holy convocations” was the term used for these special days when the people gathered formally — unlike everyday worship, these were scheduled gatherings, with a fixed date on the calendar.
  3. Levítico 23:3Interestingly, the weekly sabbath opens the list of “solemnities,” even though it was not an annual feast — but unlike the feasts, which required travel to the sanctuary, the sabbath was kept at home, wherever the people lived.
  4. Levítico 23:4This verse makes the transition from the weekly sabbath, kept at home every week, to the calendar of annual feasts that fills the rest of the chapter.
  5. Levítico 23:5Passover appears here as part of the year’s fixed calendar of feasts. The same date that marked the exodus from Egypt, recounted in Exodus, becomes in this chapter a permanent yearly commitment, alongside the other feasts that follow.
  6. Levítico 23:6The day after Passover began the Feast of Unleavened Bread, seven full days eating bread without yeast — the two feasts, Passover and Unleavened Bread, practically formed one continuous celebration.
  7. Levítico 23:7The first day of this seven-day feast was marked as a holy convocation, with rest from ordinary work — the same pattern used to open several feasts on the calendar.
  8. Levítico 23:8During the seven days sacrifices were offered, and the last day also became a holy convocation with rest — the feast was framed by two special days, one at the start and one at the end.
  9. Levítico 23:9This opening formula introduces another celebration within the same chapter: the offering of the firstfruits of the harvest.
  10. Levítico 23:10The “sheaf” is the first bundle cut from the new harvest, brought to the priest before any family could eat from that year’s wheat. The idea is to dedicate the first part of the crop before using the rest, a gesture of acknowledging where the harvest came from.
  11. Levítico 23:11The priest waved the freshly cut sheaf of barley before the Lord — a gesture that officially marked the start of the harvest, before any new grain could be eaten by the people.
  12. Levítico 23:12On the same day the sheaf was waved, an unblemished lamb was offered as a burnt offering — the celebration of the harvest’s start always came with an animal sacrifice.
  13. Levítico 23:13Flour with oil and a wine drink offering rounded out that day’s offering — the standard combo of grain and wine that appears at several points in the feast calendar.
  14. Levítico 23:14Before bringing this offering, no one could eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh green ears from the new crop — the principle of giving the first part to God applied on a national scale, not just an individual one.
  15. Levítico 23:15From the day the first sheaf of the harvest was offered, the people counted seven full weeks, forty-nine days, until the next feast described in the following verse. This is the calculation that gave rise to the Feast of Weeks, later known as Pentecost, exactly fifty days later.
  16. Levítico 23:16Counting fifty days from the offering of the sheaf to the next feast is the origin of the name later used for this celebration — Pentecost, which in Greek means precisely “fiftieth.”
  17. Levítico 23:17The two loaves for this feast were, unlike most of the grain offerings in the book, made WITH yeast — a deliberate exception to the general rule seen in chapter 2.
  18. Levítico 23:18Along with the bread came a large package of sacrifices — seven lambs, a young bull, and two rams — showing that this feast of the wheat harvest was celebrated with abundance.
  19. Levítico 23:19A goat for the sin offering and two lambs for the peace offering rounded out this feast’s offerings, covering nearly every category of sacrifice seen in the book in a single day.
  20. Levítico 23:20The priest waved the bread together with the two lambs as a wave offering — a rare case where bread and meat were waved together in the same ritual gesture.
  21. Levítico 23:21This day also became a holy convocation, with no ordinary work — a permanent statute that would repeat in every generation to come.
  22. Levítico 23:22This is practically the same law from chapter 19 about leaving the edges of the field for the poor, only here it appears tucked right into the middle of the religious feast calendar. Its placement shows that caring for the landless was treated as part of the same package of religious duties, not as a separate matter.
  23. Levítico 23:23This opening formula introduces the block of autumn feasts that fills the rest of the chapter.
  24. Levítico 23:24This day of rest marked by the blowing of trumpets is the origin of what later became Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. The text here does not use that name, it simply describes the day as a memorial of jubilation with a holy convocation.
  25. Levítico 23:25On the first day of the seventh month, with no ordinary work, a sacrifice was offered — the Feast of Trumpets, marked only by rest and an offering, with no other extra detail.
  26. Levítico 23:26This opening formula introduces the Day of Atonement within the feast calendar — the same elaborate ritual already described in rich detail back in chapter 16.
  27. Levítico 23:27Here the Day of Atonement gets its fixed place on the annual calendar: ten days after the Feast of Trumpets, with required fasting and a burnt offering.
  28. Levítico 23:28No work on that day, because it was precisely the day set aside to make atonement for the whole people before God — the rest and the ritual from chapter 16 went together.
  29. Levítico 23:29Whoever did not fast (“afflict the soul”) on that specific day faced the penalty of being cut off from the people — the only fast explicitly required anywhere in the law.
  30. Levítico 23:30Whoever worked on that day would be destroyed by God Himself, according to the text — even more direct and personal language than the usual “shall be cut off” used in other rules.
  31. Levítico 23:31No work at all, a permanent statute for every generation — the Day of Atonement received the same level of seriousness repeated three times in a row in this stretch of the chapter.
  32. Levítico 23:32The text clarifies how the day was counted: from evening to evening, from the ninth day to the tenth — showing that days on the calendar were counted from one evening to the next, not from midnight to midnight.
  33. Levítico 23:33This opening formula introduces the calendar’s last feast: the Feast of Tabernacles, closing out the chapter’s list of celebrations.
  34. Levítico 23:34This is the Feast of Tabernacles, when the family spent seven days living in temporary shelters built from branches. The reason appears later in the chapter: to remember how the people lived in tents in the wilderness, after leaving Egypt.
  35. Levítico 23:35The first day of this seven-day feast was a holy convocation, with rest from ordinary work — the same opening pattern used for the calendar’s other feasts.
  36. Levítico 23:36After the seven days of offerings, an extra eighth day also became a holy convocation — an additional solemn closing, separate from the main seven-day feast.
  37. Levítico 23:37This verse sums everything up: these are the Lord’s feasts, each with its set day, its burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and specific drink offerings.
  38. Levítico 23:38The text makes clear that these feasts were on top of the weekly sabbaths, the gifts, the vows, and the freewill offerings — one thing did not replace the other, everything added up together.
  39. Levítico 23:39The Feast of Tabernacles was directly tied to the year’s harvest: once the land’s produce had all been gathered in, the people celebrated with rest on the first and eighth days.
  40. Levítico 23:40The four kinds of branches named here are goodly trees, palm trees, thick trees, and willows. They became the basis for what Jewish tradition later called the four species, held together during the Feast of Tabernacles.
  41. Levítico 23:41This feast was to repeat every year, always in the seventh month, as a permanent statute — the same insistence on continuity seen in the calendar’s other feasts.
  42. Levítico 23:42For seven days, every Israelite born into the people had to live in temporary shelters — a physical, collective gesture, not just a holiday of rest.
  43. Levítico 23:43The reason appears here: living in shelters reminded future generations that the people had lived in tents in the wilderness, after leaving Egypt — the feast was a physical, repeated memorial of that experience.
  44. Levítico 23:44The chapter closes with Moses formally announcing this entire feast calendar to the people of Israel — the end of one of the book’s most organized blocks.

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