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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Exodus 23:14 Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/exodus/23-14.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/19/02_Exo_23_14.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Exodus 23:14 - Three Yearly Feasts" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me." /><script type="application/javascript" 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align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad14.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/exodus/23-13.htm" title="Exodus 23:13">◄</a> Exodus 23:14 <a href="/exodus/23-15.htm" title="Exodus 23:15">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv"><b>Verse</b><a href="/bsb/exodus/23.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><span class="versiontext"><a href="/niv/exodus/23.htm">New International Version</a></span><br />&#8220Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nlt/exodus/23.htm">New Living Translation</a></span><br />“Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/esv/exodus/23.htm">English Standard Version</a></span><br />“Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/bsb/exodus/23.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a></span><br />Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/kjv/exodus/23.htm">King James Bible</a></span><br />Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nkjv/exodus/23.htm">New King James Version</a></span><br />“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb_/exodus/23.htm">New American Standard Bible</a></span><br />“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb/exodus/23.htm">NASB 1995</a></span><br />&#8220Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nasb77/exodus/23.htm">NASB 1977 </a></span><br />“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsb/exodus/23.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a></span><br />“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/amp/exodus/23.htm">Amplified Bible</a></span><br />“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast [dedicated] to Me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/csb/exodus/23.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />“Celebrate a festival in my honor three times a year.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hcsb/exodus/23.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a></span><br />Celebrate a festival in My honor three times a year.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/asv/exodus/23.htm">American Standard Version</a></span><br />Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cev/exodus/23.htm">Contemporary English Version</a></span><br />Celebrate three festivals each year in my honor. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/erv/exodus/23.htm">English Revised Version</a></span><br />Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gwt/exodus/23.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a></span><br />"Three times a year you must celebrate a pilgrimage festival in my honor.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/gnt/exodus/23.htm">Good News Translation</a></span><br />"Celebrate three festivals a year to honor me. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/isv/exodus/23.htm">International Standard Version</a></span><br />"Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival for me. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/msb/exodus/23.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a></span><br />Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/net/exodus/23.htm">NET Bible</a></span><br />"Three times in the year you must make a pilgrim feast to me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nheb/exodus/23.htm">New Heart English Bible</a></span><br />"You shall observe a feast to me three times a year.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/wbt/exodus/23.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a></span><br />Three times thou shalt keep a feast to me in the year.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/web/exodus/23.htm">World English Bible</a></span><br />“You shall observe a feast to me three times a year. <div class="vheading2"><b>Literal Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lsv/exodus/23.htm">Literal Standard Version</a></span><br />You keep a celebration to Me three times in a year:<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/ylt/exodus/23.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a></span><br /> 'Three times thou dost keep a feast to Me in a year;<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/slt/exodus/23.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a></span><br />Three times thou shalt keep a festival to me in the year.<div class="vheading2"><b>Catholic Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/drb/exodus/23.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a></span><br />Three times every year you shall celebrate feasts to me. <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/cpdv/exodus/23.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a></span><br />Three times in each year, you shall celebrate feasts to me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nabre/exodus/23.htm">New American Bible</a></span><br />Three times a year you shall celebrate a pilgrim feast to me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/nrsvce/exodus/23.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a></span><br />Three times in the year you shall hold a festival for me.<div class="vheading2"><b>Translations from Aramaic</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/lamsa/exodus/23.htm">Lamsa Bible</a></span><br />Three times in the year you shall celebrate a festival for me.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/hpbt/exodus/23.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a></span><br />Make to me a feast three times in a year.<div class="vheading2"><b>OT Translations</b></div><span class="versiontext"><a href="/jps/exodus/23.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a></span><br />Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/sep/exodus/23.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a></span><br />Keep ye a feast to me three times in the year.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/parallel/exodus/23-14.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></span></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv"><b>Audio Bible</b></div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kVae3PiKqhs?start=5840" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="vheadingv"><b>Context</b></div><span class="hdg"><a href="/bsb/exodus/23.htm">Three Yearly Feasts</a></span><br> <span class="reftext">14</span><span class="highl"><a href="/hebrew/7969.htm" title="7969: šā·lōš (Number-fs) -- A three, triad. Or shalosh; masculine shlowshah; or shloshah; a primitive number; three; occasionally third, or Thrice.">Three</a> <a href="/hebrew/7272.htm" title="7272: rə·ḡā·lîm (N-fp) -- Foot. From ragal; a foot; by implication, a step; by euphem. The pudenda.">times</a> <a href="/hebrew/8141.htm" title="8141: baš·šā·nāh (Prep-b, Art:: N-fs) -- A year. (in plura or shanah; from shanah; a year.">a year</a> <a href="/hebrew/2287.htm" title="2287: tā·ḥōḡ (V-Qal-Imperf-2ms) -- A primitive root; properly, to move in a circle, i.e. to march in a sacred procession, to observe a festival; by implication, to be giddy.">you are to celebrate a feast</a> <a href="/hebrew/lî (Prep:: 1cs) -- ">to Me.</a> </span><span class="reftext">15</span>You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread as I commanded you: At the appointed time in the month of Abib you are to eat unleavened bread for seven days, because that was the month you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before Me empty-handed.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/16-16.htm">Deuteronomy 16:16</a></span><br />Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/leviticus/23-4.htm">Leviticus 23:4-44</a></span><br />These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times. / The Passover to the LORD begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. / On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_chronicles/8-13.htm">2 Chronicles 8:13</a></span><br />He observed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/numbers/28-16.htm">Numbers 28:16-25</a></span><br />The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover. / On the fifteenth day of this month, there shall be a feast; for seven days unleavened bread is to be eaten. / On the first day there is to be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/numbers/29-12.htm">Numbers 29:12-40</a></span><br />On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, you are to hold a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work, and you shall observe a feast to the LORD for seven days. / As a pleasing aroma to the LORD, you are to present a food offering, a burnt offering of thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs a year old, all unblemished, / along with the grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil with each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths of an ephah with each of the two rams, ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/deuteronomy/16-1.htm">Deuteronomy 16:1-17</a></span><br />Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. / You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name. / You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/1_kings/9-25.htm">1 Kings 9:25</a></span><br />Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense with them before the LORD. So he completed the temple.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_chronicles/30-21.htm">2 Chronicles 30:21-23</a></span><br />The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD. / And Hezekiah encouraged all the Levites who performed skillfully before the LORD. For seven days they ate their assigned portion, sacrificing peace offerings and giving thanks to the LORD, the God of their fathers. / The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/2_chronicles/35-17.htm">2 Chronicles 35:17-19</a></span><br />The Israelites who were present also observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. / No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem. / In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover was observed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/ezra/6-19.htm">Ezra 6:19-22</a></span><br />On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles kept the Passover. / All the priests and Levites had purified themselves and were ceremonially clean. And the Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their priestly brothers, and for themselves. / The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/matthew/26-17.htm">Matthew 26:17-19</a></span><br />On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” / He answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the Teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house.’” / So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/mark/14-12.htm">Mark 14:12-16</a></span><br />On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” / So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him, / and whichever house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’ ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/luke/22-7.htm">Luke 22:7-13</a></span><br />Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed. / Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” / “Where do You want us to prepare it?” they asked. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/2-13.htm">John 2:13-23</a></span><br />When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. / In the temple courts He found men selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and money changers seated at their tables. / So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. ...<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="crossverse"><a href="/john/6-4.htm">John 6:4</a></span><br />Now the Jewish Feast of the Passover was near.</div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div><p class="tsk2">Three times you shall keep a feast to me in the year.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/exodus/34-22.htm">Exodus 34:22</a></b></br> And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.</p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/leviticus/23-5.htm">Leviticus 23:5,16,34</a></b></br> In the fourteenth <i>day</i> of the first month at even <i>is</i> the LORD'S passover… </p><p class="tskverse"><b><a href="/deuteronomy/16-16.htm">Deuteronomy 16:16</a></b></br> Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:</p><div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/exodus/12-48.htm">Celebrate</a> <a href="/exodus/13-6.htm">Feast</a> <a href="/exodus/13-6.htm">Festival</a> <a href="/exodus/13-5.htm">Observe</a> <a href="/exodus/21-11.htm">Three</a> <a href="/2_corinthians/12-8.htm">Thrice</a> <a href="/exodus/18-26.htm">Times</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/exodus/23-16.htm">Celebrate</a> <a href="/exodus/23-15.htm">Feast</a> <a href="/exodus/23-18.htm">Festival</a> <a href="/exodus/23-15.htm">Observe</a> <a href="/exodus/23-17.htm">Three</a> <a href="/exodus/34-23.htm">Thrice</a> <a href="/exodus/23-17.htm">Times</a><div class="vheading2">Exodus 23</div><span class="reftext">1. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-1.htm">Of slander, false witness, and partiality</a></span><br><span class="reftext">4. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-4.htm">Of charitableness</a></span><br><span class="reftext">6. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-6.htm">Of justice in judgment</a></span><br><span class="reftext">8. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-8.htm">Of taking bribes</a></span><br><span class="reftext">9. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-9.htm">Of oppressing a stranger</a></span><br><span class="reftext">10. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-10.htm">Of the year of rest</a></span><br><span class="reftext">12. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-12.htm">Of the Sabbath</a></span><br><span class="reftext">13. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-13.htm">Of idolatry</a></span><br><span class="reftext">14. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-14.htm">Of the three feasts</a></span><br><span class="reftext">18. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-18.htm">Of the blood and the fat of the sacrifice</a></span><br><span class="reftext">20. </span><span class="outlinetext"><a href="/exodus/23-20.htm">An angel is promised, with a blessing, if they obey him</a></span><br></div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div><br /><br />  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div><br /><br />  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div><br /><br /> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <br /><br /> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/exodus/23.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/exodus/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/exodus/23.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div><b>Three times a year</b><br>This phrase refers to the three major pilgrimage festivals in ancient Israel, which were central to the religious life of the Israelites. These festivals are Passover (Pesach), the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). Each of these festivals corresponds to significant agricultural and historical events. The number three often symbolizes completeness and divine perfection in the Bible, indicating the comprehensive nature of worship and dedication required from the Israelites.<p><b>you are to celebrate</b><br>The act of celebration here is not merely a suggestion but a command, emphasizing the importance of these feasts in maintaining the covenant relationship between God and His people. Celebration in this context involves both communal and individual acts of worship, including sacrifices, offerings, and communal meals. It underscores the joy and gratitude that should accompany worship and obedience to God.<p><b>a feast</b><br>The term "feast" in this context refers to a sacred assembly and a time of rejoicing. Feasts in the biblical sense were not only times of eating and drinking but also involved specific rituals and sacrifices. They served as reminders of God's provision and faithfulness. Each feast had its own unique significance and set of rituals, reflecting different aspects of God's relationship with His people.<p><b>to Me</b><br>This phrase indicates that the feasts are directed towards God, highlighting their purpose as acts of worship and devotion. The focus is on God as the recipient of the celebration, reinforcing the idea that these feasts are not merely cultural or social events but are deeply spiritual in nature. This aligns with the broader biblical theme of God desiring a personal and covenantal relationship with His people.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <b><a href="/topical/g/god.htm">God (Yahweh)</a></b><br>The speaker of the command, emphasizing His desire for His people to worship and celebrate in His presence.<br><br>2. <b><a href="/topical/i/israelites.htm">Israelites</a></b><br>The recipients of the command, God's chosen people who are to observe these feasts.<br><br>3. <b><a href="/topical/f/feasts.htm">Feasts</a></b><br>Specific times of celebration and worship, which include the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering, as detailed in the surrounding verses.<br><br>4. <b><a href="/topical/p/promised_land.htm">Promised Land</a></b><br>The destination where these feasts are to be celebrated, symbolizing God's provision and faithfulness.<br><br>5. <b><a href="/topical/c/covenant_relationship.htm">Covenant Relationship</a></b><br>The underlying context of the command, highlighting the covenant between God and Israel.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><b><a href="/topical/i/importance_of_regular_worship.htm">Importance of Regular Worship</a></b><br>The command to celebrate feasts three times a year underscores the importance of regular, intentional worship in the life of believers.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/community_and_fellowship.htm">Community and Fellowship</a></b><br>These feasts were communal events, highlighting the importance of fellowship and unity among God's people.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/r/remembrance_and_thanksgiving.htm">Remembrance and Thanksgiving</a></b><br>The feasts served as a time to remember God's past deliverance and provision, encouraging believers to cultivate a heart of gratitude.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/h/holiness_and_consecration.htm">Holiness and Consecration</a></b><br>The feasts required preparation and consecration, reminding believers of the need for holiness in approaching God.<br><br><b><a href="/topical/c/christ_as_fulfillment.htm">Christ as Fulfillment</a></b><br>Understanding these feasts in light of the New Testament reveals how Christ fulfills the symbolism and purpose of these celebrations.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_exodus_23.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Exodus 23</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_does_carnival_celebrate.htm">What does Carnival celebrate?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_are_the_bible's_jewish_feasts.htm">What are the Jewish feasts and festivals in the Bible?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_does_spiritual_harvest_mean.htm">What does spiritual harvest mean?</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/q/what_is_the_meaning_of_psalm_121_1.htm">What is the meaning of Psalm 121:1?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/exodus/23.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(14-17) The first great festival--the Passover festival--had been already instituted (<a href="/context/exodus/12-3.htm" title="Speak you to all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:">Exodus 12:3-20</a>; <a href="/context/exodus/13-3.htm" title="And Moses said to the people, Remember this day, in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.">Exodus 13:3-10</a>). It pleased the Divine Legislator at this time to add to that festival two others, and to make all three equally obligatory. There is some reason to suppose that, in germ, the "feast of harvest" and the "feast of ingathering" already existed. All nations, from the earliest time to which history reaches back, had festival seasons of a religious character; and no seasons are more suitable for such festivities than the conclusion of the grain-harvest, and the final completion of the entire harvest of the year. At any rate, whatever the previous practice, these three festival-seasons were now laid down as essential parts of the Law, and continued--supplemented by two others--<span class= "ital">the </span>national festivals so long as Israel was a nation. In other countries such seasons were more common. Herodotus says that the Egyptians had six great yearly festival-times (ii. 59); and in Greece and Rome there was never a month without some notable religious festivity. Such institutions exerted a political as well as a religious influence, and helped towards national unity. This was more especially the case when, as in the present instance, they were expressly made gatherings of the whole nation to a single centre. What the great Greek panegyries, Olympic, Pythian, &c., were to Hellas, that the three great annual gatherings to the place where God had fixed His name were to Israel--a means of drawing closer the national bond, and counteracting those separatist tendencies which a nation split into tribes almost necessarily developed.<p><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/exodus/23.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verses 14-17.</span> - <span class="accented">Law of Festivals</span>. "The sanctification of days and times," says Richard Hooker, "is a token of that thankfulness and a part of that public honour which we owe to God for admirable benefits, whereof it doth not suffice that we keep a secret calendar, taking thereby our private occasions as we list ourselves to think how much God hath done for all men; but the days which are chosen out to serve as public memorials of such his mercies ought to be clothed with those outward robes of holiness whereby their difference from other days may be made sensible" (<span class="accented">Eccles. Pol</span>. 5:70, § 1). All ancient religions had solemn festival seasons, when particular mercies of God were specially commemorated, and when men, meeting together in large numbers, mutually cheered and excited each other to a warmer devotion and a more hearty pouring forth of thanks than human weakness made possible at other times. In Egypt such festivals were frequent, and held a high place in the religion (Herod. 2:58-64:). Abraham's family had probably had observances of the kind in their Mesopotamian home. God's providence saw good now to give supernatural sanction to the natural piety which had been accustomed thus to express itself. Three great feasts were appointed, of which the most remarkable features were - <p><span class="Text_Heading">1.</span> That they were at once agricultural and historical - connected with the regularly recurrent course of the seasons, and connected also with great events in the life of the nation; <p><span class="Text_Heading">2.</span> That they could be kept only at one spot, that namely where the tabernacle was at the time located; <p><span class="Text_Heading">3.</span> That they were to be attended by the whole male population. The three festivals are here called - . . . <span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="versiontext"><a href="/commentaries/exodus/23-14.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a></span><span class="p"><br /><br /><br /></span><a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div><span class="word">Three</span><br /><span class="heb">שָׁלֹ֣שׁ</span> <span class="translit">(šā·lōš)</span><br /><span class="parse">Number - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_7969.htm">Strong's 7969: </a> </span><span class="str2">Three, third, thrice</span><br /><br /><span class="word">times</span><br /><span class="heb">רְגָלִ֔ים</span> <span class="translit">(rə·ḡā·lîm)</span><br /><span class="parse">Noun - feminine plural<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_7272.htm">Strong's 7272: </a> </span><span class="str2">A foot, a step, the pudenda</span><br /><br /><span class="word">a year</span><br /><span class="heb">בַּשָּׁנָֽה׃</span> <span class="translit">(baš·šā·nāh)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_8141.htm">Strong's 8141: </a> </span><span class="str2">A year</span><br /><br /><span class="word">you are to celebrate a feast</span><br /><span class="heb">תָּחֹ֥ג</span> <span class="translit">(tā·ḥōḡ)</span><br /><span class="parse">Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/strongs_2287.htm">Strong's 2287: </a> </span><span class="str2">To make a pilgrimage, keep a pilgrim feast</span><br /><br /><span class="word">to Me.</span><br /><span class="heb">לִ֖י</span> <span class="translit">(lî)</span><br /><span class="parse">Preposition | first person common singular<br /></span><span class="str"><a href="/hebrew/.htm">Strong's Hebrew</a> </span><span class="str2"></span><br /><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 NIV</a><br /><a href="/nlt/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 NLT</a><br /><a href="/esv/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 ESV</a><br /><a href="/nasb/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 NASB</a><br /><a href="/kjv/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 KJV</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="//bibleapps.com/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 BibleApps.com</a><br /><a href="//bibliaparalela.com/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 Biblia Paralela</a><br /><a href="//holybible.com.cn/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 Chinese Bible</a><br /><a href="//saintebible.com/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 French Bible</a><br /><a href="/catholic/exodus/23-14.htm">Exodus 23:14 Catholic Bible</a><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/exodus/23-14.htm">OT Law: Exodus 23:14 You shall observe a feast to me (Exo. Ex) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/exodus/23-13.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Exodus 23:13"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Exodus 23:13" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/exodus/23-15.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Exodus 23:15"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Exodus 23:15" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>