You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out of Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty.
Parallel Translations
-
You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib (for in it you came out of Egypt), and no one shall appear before me empty.
-
Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
-
The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep; seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time appointed in the month Abib — for in it thou camest out from Egypt; and none shall appear before Me empty;
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Exodus 23:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Exodus 34:20 You shall redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb. If you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. No one shall appear before me empty.
- Luke 22:7 The day of unleavened bread came, on which the Passover must be sacrificed.
- Numbers 28:16-25 “ ‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, is Yahweh’s Passover. On the fifteenth day of this month shall be a feast. Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. In the first day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work, but you shall offer an offering made by fire, a burnt offering to Yahweh: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old. They shall be without defect, with their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil. You shall offer three tenths for a bull, and two tenths for the ram. You shall offer one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs; and one male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you. You shall offer these in addition to the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a continual burnt offering. In this way you shall offer daily, for seven days, the food of the offering made by fire, of a pleasant aroma to Yahweh. It shall be offered in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering. On the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.
- Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times in a year all of your males shall appear before Yahweh your God in the place which he chooses: in the feast of unleavened bread, in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of booths. They shall not appear before Yahweh empty.
- Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor Yahweh with your substance, with the first fruits of all your increase: so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
- Leviticus 23:5-8 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Yahweh’s Passover. On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Yahweh. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work.’ ”
- Deuteronomy 16:1-8 Observe the month of Abib, and keep the Passover to Yahweh your God; for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by night. You shall sacrifice the Passover to Yahweh your God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which Yahweh shall choose to cause his name to dwell there. You shall eat no leavened bread with it. You shall eat unleavened bread with it seven days, even the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste) that you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. No yeast shall be seen with you in all your borders seven days; neither shall any of the meat, which you sacrifice the first day at evening, remain all night until the morning. You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you; but at the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell in, there you shall sacrifice the Passover at evening, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you came out of Egypt. You shall roast and eat it in the place which Yahweh your God chooses. In the morning you shall return to your tents. Six days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to Yahweh your God. You shall do no work.
- 2 Kings 23:21-23 The king commanded all the people, saying, “Keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, as it is written in this book of the covenant.” Surely there was not kept such a Passover from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah; but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, this Passover was kept to Yahweh in Jerusalem.
- Exodus 12:14-28 This day shall be a memorial for you. You shall keep it as a feast to Yahweh. You shall keep it as a feast throughout your generations by an ordinance forever. “ ‘Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; even the first day you shall put away yeast out of your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. In the first day there shall be to you a holy convocation, and in the seventh day a holy convocation; no kind of work shall be done in them, except that which every man must eat, only that may be done by you. You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this same day I have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty first day of the month at evening. There shall be no yeast found in your houses for seven days, for whoever eats that which is leavened, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a foreigner, or one who is born in the land. You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ” Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said to them, “Draw out, and take lambs according to your families, and kill the Passover. You shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two door posts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For Yahweh will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when he sees the blood on the lintel, and on the two door posts, Yahweh will pass over the door, and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to strike you. You shall observe this thing for an ordinance to you and to your sons forever. It shall happen when you have come to the land which Yahweh will give you, as he has promised, that you shall keep this service. It will happen, when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ that you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of Yahweh’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians, and spared our houses.’ ” The people bowed their heads and worshiped. The children of Israel went and did so; as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.
- Exodus 12:43-49 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover. No foreigner shall eat of it, but every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then shall he eat of it. A foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat of it. It must be eaten in one house. You shall not carry any of the meat outside of the house. Do not break any of its bones. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. When a stranger lives as a foreigner with you, and would like to keep the Passover to Yahweh, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it. He shall be as one who is born in the land; but no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. One law shall be to him who is born at home, and to the stranger who lives as a foreigner among you.”
- Exodus 13:4 Today you go out in the month Abib.
- Exodus 13:6-7 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to Yahweh. Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and no leavened bread shall be seen with you. No yeast shall be seen with you, within all your borders.
- Exodus 34:18 “You shall keep the feast of unleavened bread. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month Abib; for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.
- Leviticus 23:10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest, then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.
- Joshua 5:10-11 The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal. They kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. They ate unleavened cakes and parched grain of the produce of the land on the next day after the Passover, in the same day.
- Mark 14:12 On the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare that you may eat the Passover?”
- 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Purge out the old yeast, that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place. Therefore let’s keep the feast, not with old yeast, neither with the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
- Numbers 9:2-14 “Let the children of Israel keep the Passover in its appointed season. On the fourteenth day of this month, at evening, you shall keep it in its appointed season. You shall keep it according to all its statutes and according to all its ordinances.” Moses told the children of Israel that they should keep the Passover. They kept the Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, in the wilderness of Sinai. According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did. There were certain men, who were unclean because of the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day. Those men said to him, “We are unclean because of the dead body of a man. Why are we kept back, that we may not offer the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season among the children of Israel?” Moses answered them, “Wait, that I may hear what Yahweh will command concerning you.” Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘If any man of you or of your generations is unclean by reason of a dead body, or is on a journey far away, he shall still keep the Passover to Yahweh. In the second month, on the fourteenth day at evening they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They shall leave none of it until the morning, nor break a bone of it. According to all the statute of the Passover they shall keep it. But the man who is clean, and is not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that soul shall be cut off from his people. Because he didn’t offer the offering of Yahweh in its appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. “ ‘If a foreigner lives among you, and desires to keep the Passover to Yahweh, then he shall do so according to the statute of the Passover, and according to its ordinance. You shall have one statute, both for the foreigner, and for him who is born in the land.’ ”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, Easter, in remembrance that the Angel passed…
That is, Easter, in remembrance that the Angel passed over and spared the Israelites, when he slew the firstborn of the Egyptians.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Exo 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened…
Exo 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Ver. 15. Thou shalt keep the feast.] Let us also keep the feast, or holy day. {1Co 5:8} {See Trapp on "1Co 5:8"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This may be either,
This may be either,
1. A precept, as it is generally understood, that none should ever come at those times without some offering or other, for the support of the Levites, and of the worship of God; but the determination of this, or what they would give, was left to their choice. Or,
Read full note →
2. A promise to encourage them to come so oft from their remotest habitations to Jerusalem, because
they should never appear before God in vain, i.e. to no purpose, or without some benefit, for so the word rekam oft signifies. So it may be parallel to Isa 45:19, I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. But the former sense is more probable, by comparing this with its parallel place, Deu 16:16,17.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Three times in the year all thy males shall…
Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord thy God. In the city of Jerusalem, when they were come into the land of Canaan, and the temple was there built: here they were to show themselves before the Lord as being his, and devoted to his service; concerning which the Misnic doctors have the following canon (c),"all are bound to appear except a man deaf and dumb, a fool, a little one, one of neither sex, or of both sexes, women, servants not free, the lame, the blind, the sick, an old man, and he that cannot go on his feet.''
(c) Misn. Chagigah, c. 1. sect. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Empty. But shalt offer something in sacrifice, and for…
Empty. But shalt offer something in sacrifice, and for the support of the Levites, freely, Deuteronomy xvi. 10. At the Passover, the first-fruits of barley were to be offered, as those of wheat would be ready at Pentecost. The third feast was that of tabernacles, at the conclusion of the civil year. Presents were to be made to God, in testimony of their submission to him; as they were to the kings of the east, by their subjects. (Tavernier, Perse. iv. 16.) See 1 Kings x. 27. and 1 Paralipomenon xviii. 2. --- A sixtieth part of the fruits, at least, was carried to the temple. They consisted of wheat, barley, grapes, figs, apricots, olives, and dates. The king himself carried his basket, and when the solemn procession arrived at the temple, the Levites began to sing Psalm xxix., I will extol thee, O Lord, &c. After which, the people repeated the words of Deuteronomy xxvi. 3; and having given their baskets to the priests, (ver. 4,) recited parts of the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th verses. (Calmet) --- God. Here the Septuagint add, "For when I shall have cast the Gentiles from before thy face, and extended thy limits."
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 15a. The first pilgrimage, the seven days’ festival of…
15a. The first pilgrimage, the seven days’ festival of Maẓẓoth or Unleavened Cakes. Cf. the parallel Exo_34:18; and the later regulations in Deu_16:3-4; Deu_16:8; Lev_23:6-8 (P), 9–14 (H and P); Exo_12:14-20 and Num_28:17-25 (both P). This feast celebrated the beginning of the barley-harvest (which begins in Palestine towards the end of April or the beginning of May, some weeks before the wheat-harvest): cf. Lev_23:10-14 H (the ‘wave-sheaf’ of the first-fruits of the harvest to be presented then to Jehovah). The reason why this spring festival was observed in particular by eating unleavened cakes must remain matter of conjecture: perhaps it was simply because, at a time when men were busy with the harvest, such cakes (cf. on Exo_12:8) were most quickly and easily prepared (Wellh. Hist. p. 87; Nowack, Arch. ii. 146; EB. iii. 3591). Eerdmans (Expositor, Nov. 1909, p. 459 ff.) conjectures that it was to preserve, in accordance with a primitive conception, the ‘soul’ of the corn for the seed of the year to come. The feast is regarded as commemorating the day of the Exodus in Exo_13:3-10 (JE), Deu_16:3, Exo_12:14-20 (P): in Exo_12:34; Exo_12:39 (J) a historical motive for the use of unleavened cakes is suggested; the haste viz. with which the Israelites left Egypt gave them no time to leaven their dough.
seven days … empty] These words, breaking the grammatical connexion between v. 15a and v. 16, have been most probably introduced here by a later hand from Exo_34:18 b, 20c. The words, ‘as I commanded thee,’ refer apparently to Exo_13:6 J (cf. v. 4 ‘Abib’), and are in their proper place in J’s covenant (Exo_34:10-26; see p. 372), but cannot well be original in E.
Read full note →
15b. none shall appear before me empty] So Exo_34:20 c, Deu_16:16 c (with the explanation in v. 17 ‘every man shall give [an offering] as he is able, according to the blessing of Jehovah which he hath given thee,’ i.e. according as he can afford to give, out of the produce of the year). In Deu_16:16 c the clause actually follows the one corresponding to Exo_23:17 = Exo_34:23, so that it refers to all three pilgrimages; and no doubt this was its original place (viz. after Exo_34:23 = Exo_23:17): it would be natural to expect an offering to be prescribed for each pilgrimage.
appear before me] The standing phrase for visiting a sanctuary as a worshipper, esp. at the three great pilgrimages (Exo_34:20; Exo_34:23-24, Deu_31:11, 1Sa_1:22), but also used more generally (Isa_1:12, Psa_42:2). It is however held by many,—on the basis, primarily, of grammatical considerations affecting Exo_23:15; Exo_34:20, Isa_1:12, and Psa_42:2,—that in these and similar passages (Exo_34:23-24,) Deu_16:16 (twice), Exo_31:11) the existing punctuation does not represent the original vocalization, and that the true sense of the phrase is (with other vowel points) see my face, see the face of Yahweh, i.e. visit Him as Sovereign (so Ges., Dillm., Kirkpatrick on Psa_42:1, and others). The usual phrase for admission to the presence of a royal person (2Sa_3:13; 2Sa_14:28; 2Sa_14:32, 2Ki_25:19; cf. Gen_43:3) was applied to visiting the sanctuary; but as objection came to be felt to the expression ‘seeing the face of God’ (cf. Exo_33:20), the vocalization,—and perhaps, in Exo_23:17, 1Sa_1:22, even the consonantal ext,—was altered so as to express the idea of ‘appearing before God.’
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (15) The feast of unleavened bread.—See the Notes on…
(15) The feast of unleavened bread.—See the Notes on Exo_12:15-20.
In the time appointed of the month Abib.—From the 14th day of the month Abib (or Nisan) to the 21st day. (See Exo. Xii. 18, 13:4-7.)
Read full note →
None shall appear before me empty.—Viewed religiously, the festivals were annual national thanks-givings for mercies received, both natural and miraculous—the first for the commencement of harvest and the deliverance out of Egypt; the second for the completion of the grain-harvest and the passage of the Red Sea; the third for the final gathering in of the fruits and the many mercies of the wilderness. At such seasons we must not “appear before God empty,” we must give Him not only “the salves of our lips,” but some substantial acknowledgment of His goodness towards us. The law here laid down with respect to the first feast is afterwards extended to the other two (Deu_16:16).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The feast of unleavened bread. This commenced with the…
The feast of unleavened bread. This commenced with the Passover, and continued for the seven days following, with a "holy convocation" on the first of the seven and on the last. (Lev_23:5-8) Unleavened bread was eaten in commemoration of the hasty exodus from. (Exo_12:34) A sheaf of new barley the first-fruits of the harvest was offered as a wave-offering before the Lord. (Lev_23:10-14) Every male Israelite of full age was bound to attend, and to bring with him a free-will offering. In the time appointed of the monthi.e. , on the fourteenth day. (Exo_12:18) None shall appear before me empty. This rule applies, not to the Passover only, but to all the feasts.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain First month, i.e. April.
Abib
First month, i.e. April.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 23:15 appointed time in early spring, in the month…
23:15 appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib: See 13:4-5; Lev 23:5-8; Deut 16:1-8.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.