And you shall roast and eat it in the place which the Lord your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall roast and eat it in the place which Yahweh your God chooses. In the morning you shall return to your tents.
- KJV And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
- BSB And you shall roast it and eat it in the place the LORD your God will choose, and in the morning you shall return to your tents.
- NASB You shall cook and eat it in the place which the Lord your God chooses. In the morning you are to return to your tents.
- NLT Roast the lamb and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses. Then you may go back to your tents the next morning.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel was to cook and eat the Passover at the chosen place, then return home in the morning. The feast centered on God's sanctuary before resuming daily life.
Overview
The pilgrims prepared and ate the sacrifice at the central place, then departed the next morning. This bound the household's worship to God's appointed location and the shared festival. The pattern of gathering to God's place, feasting on the sacrifice, and returning renewed reflects the rhythm of worship that still shapes God's people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- 2 Chr 35:13They roasted the Passover with fire according to the ordinance. The boiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the children of the people.
- Deut 16:2You 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.
- John 11:55Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.
- 2 Kgs 23:23but in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, this Passover was kept to Yahweh in Jerusalem.
- John 2:13The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
- John 2:23Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing his signs which he did.
- Exod 12:8–9They shall eat the meat in that night, roasted with fire, and unleavened bread. They shall eat it with bitter herbs.
- Ps 22:14–15I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; it is melted within me.
- Deut 16:6but 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 16:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.