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“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the LORD that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
Leviticus 23:2 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The set feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.
  • KJV Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
  • NKJV “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.
  • NASB “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord’s appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:
  • NLT “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly.

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

God declares the appointed feasts to be holy convocations, sacred assemblies that belong to Him.

Overview

The feasts are emphatically called 'my set feasts,' meetings God Himself appoints with His people. They were not human celebrations but divine summons to gather in worship. This pattern of God calling His people together to meet Him reaches its fullness in the church gathered around the risen Christ (Hebrews 10:25).

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Lev 23:4These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times.
  • Lev 23:37These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for presenting offerings by fire to the LORD—burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each on its designated day.
  • Num 29:39You are to present these offerings to the LORD at your appointed times, in addition to your vow and freewill offerings, whether burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, or peace offerings.”
  • Exod 23:14–17Three times a year you are to celebrate a feast to Me.
  • Ps 81:3Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.
  • Joel 2:15Blow the ram’s horn in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a sacred assembly.
  • Num 10:10And on your joyous occasions, your appointed feasts, and the beginning of each month, you are to blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to serve as a reminder for you before your God. I am the LORD your God.”
  • Hos 2:11I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts.
  • Num 10:2–3“Make two trumpets of hammered silver to be used for calling the congregation and for having the camps set out.
  • Lev 23:44So Moses announced to the Israelites the appointed feasts of the LORD.
  • Isa 1:13–14Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me—your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.
  • Lam 1:4The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she herself is bitter with anguish.
  • Joel 1:14Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
  • 2 Kgs 10:20And Jehu commanded, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they announced it.
  • 2 Chr 30:5So they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come to keep the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel, in Jerusalem. For they had not observed it as a nation as prescribed.
  • Exod 32:5When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before the calf and proclaimed: “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.”
  • Jonah 3:5–9And the Ninevites believed God. They proclaimed a fast and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least.
  • Lev 23:21On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly, and you must not do any regular work. This is to be a permanent statute wherever you live for the generations to come.
  • John 5:1Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
  • Isa 33:20Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any of its cords be broken.
  • Nah 1:15Look to the mountains—the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked will never again march through you; they will be utterly cut off.
  • Col 2:1For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me face to face,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Leviticus videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Leviticus 23:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on LeviticusMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Every sacrifice, every priest, and every day of atonement points beyond itself to the one perfect offering and the great High Priest who, by his own blood, makes the unclean holy once for all.

How Leviticus 23:2 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.