161 "Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God , for in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night . 2 "You shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God from the flock and the herd , in the place where e the Lord chooses to establish His name . 3 " You shall not eat leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat with it unleavened bread , the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste ), so that you may remember all the days of your life the day when you came out of the land of Egypt . 4 "For seven days no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory , and none of the flesh which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall remain overnight until morning . 5 "You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your towns which the Lord your God is giving you; 6 but at the place where e the Lord your God chooses to establish His name , you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset e , at the time that you came out of Egypt . 7 "You shall cook and eat it in the place which the Lord your God chooses . In the morning you are to return e to your tents . 8 "Six days you shall eat unleavened bread , and on the seventh day there shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord your God ; you shall do no work on it. 9 " You shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain . 10 "Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand , which you shall give just as the Lord your God blesses you; 11 and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God , you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants e and the Levite who is in your town , and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst , in the place where e the Lord your God chooses to establish His name . 12 " You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt , and you shall be careful to observe these statutes . 13 " You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat ; 14 and you shall rejoice in your feast , you and your son and your daughter and your male and female servants e and the Levite and the stranger and the orphan and the widow who are in your towns . 15 "Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses , because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands , so that you will be altogether joyful . 16 " Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses , at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths , and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed . 17 "Every man shall give as he is able , according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
18 "You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes , and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment . 19 " You shall not distort justice ; you shall not be partial e , and you shall not take a bribe , for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous . 20 "Justice , and only justice , you shall pursue , that you may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:1-20
Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:1-17
(Read Deuteronomy 16:1-17)
The laws for the three yearly feasts are here repeated; that of the Passover, that of the Pentecost, that of Tabernacles; and the general law concerning the people's attendance. Never should a believer forget his low estate of guilt and misery, his deliverance, and the price it cost the Redeemer; that gratitude and joy in the Lord may be mingled with sorrow for sin, and patience under the tribulations in his way to the kingdom of heaven. They must rejoice in their receivings from God, and in their returns of service and sacrifice to him; our duty must be our delight, as well as our enjoyment. If those who were under the law must rejoice before God, much more we that are under the grace of the gospel; which makes it our duty to rejoice evermore, to rejoice in the Lord always. When we rejoice in God ourselves, we should do what we can to assist others also to rejoice in him, by comforting the mourners, and supplying those who are in want. All who make God their joy, may rejoice in hope, for He is faithful that has promised.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:18-22
(Read Deuteronomy 16:18-22)
Care is taken for the due administration of justice. All personal regards must be laid aside, so that right is done to all, and wrong to none. Care is taken to prevent following the idolatrous customs of the heathen. Nothing belies God more, or tends more to corrupt the minds of men, than representing and worshipping, by an image, that God, who is an almighty and eternal Spirit, present every where. Alas! even in gospel days, and under a better dispensation, established upon better promises, there is a tendency to set up idols, under one form or another, in the human heart.