Deuteronomy 16:10
in Deuteronomy 16And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto Jehovah thy God with a tribute of a freewill-offering of thy hand, which thou shalt give, according as Jehovah thy God blesseth thee:
KJV
And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God, according as the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAn offering of "first fruits," that is, from the beginning of the harvest, is commanded. If you remember well, the law commands this is to be done on the day of Pentecost. This was obviously given to them as a "shadow," but the truth was reserved for us. For on the day of Pentecost, after they offered up the sacrifice of prayers, the church of the apostles received the first fruits of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
This site's exposition
You are to count off seven weeks
on Deuteronomy 16:9-10
The count begins “from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain”. Leviticus 23:15-16 counts the same seven weeks to fifty days. The Greek word for fiftieth gives the day the name Pentecost that Acts 2:1 uses.
This site's exposition
celebrate the Feast of Weeks
Origen reads the firstfruits of this feast as a shadow, and the truth as the Spirit given to the apostles on the day of Pentecost. Leviticus 23:17 names that day's offering, two loaves baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is here called a tribute of a free-will-offering. It was required of them as a tribute to their Sovereign Lord and owner, under whom they held all they had; and yet because the law did not determine the quantum, but it was left to every man's generosity to bring what he chose, and whatever he brought he must give cheerfully, it is therefore called a free-will offering.
And thou shall keep the feast of weeks unto the Lord thy God,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Seven weeks shalt thou number--The feast of weeks, or a WEEK OF WEEKS: the feast of pentecost (see on Le 23:10; also see Ex 34:22; As on the second day of the passover a sheaf of new barley, reaped on purpose, was offered, so on the second day of pentecost a sheaf of new wheat was presented as first-fruits (Ex 23:16;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
How the passage was read
On Deuteronomy 16:1-17On Deuteronomy 16:1-17
Three times a year, on the road
This passage sets the rhythm behind half the New Testament's travel scenes: three times a year (Passover, Weeks, Tabernacles) every Israelite male was to appear “before the LORD” at the one chosen place, which became Jerusalem. That is pilgrimage: whole families and villages walking or riding for days, camping, filling the city to bursting. It is why the boy Jesus is in Jerusalem in Luke 2, why the city is crowded at the crucifixion, and why devout Jews “from every nation” are there at Pentecost in Acts 2.
The Mishnah opens its tractate on the festival visit by asking exactly who is obligated to make the trip (Chagigah 1:1): men were bound; women and children came freely, as Mary did.
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
He mentions here [that you are to rejoice] in the place which the Eternal thy G-d shall choose to cause His Name to dwell there, 359 Verse.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Chagigah 1:1 (who must appear) · Luke 2:41 (the family's yearly pilgrimage)
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָשִׂ֜יתָ | veasita | and you will observe | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| חַ֤ג | chag | a festival of | H2282 → | 62 times |
| שָׁבֻעוֹת֙ | shavuot | weeks | H7620 → | 20 times |
| לַיהוָ֣ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִסַּ֛ת | misat | a sufficiency of | H4530 → | |
| נִדְבַ֥ת | nidvat | a freewill offering of | H5071 → | 26 times |
| יָדְךָ֖ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּתֵּ֑ן | titen | you will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְבָרֶכְךָ֖ | yevarekha | he will bless you | H1288 → | 330 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
וְעָשִׂ֜יתָand you will observe
veasitaH6213 →2628 times
חַ֤גa festival of
chagH2282 →62 times
שָׁבֻעוֹת֙weeks
shavuotH7620 →20 times
לַיהוָ֣הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
מִסַּ֛תa sufficiency of
misatH4530 →
נִדְבַ֥תa freewill offering of
nidvatH5071 →26 times
יָדְךָ֖hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תִּתֵּ֑ןyou will give
titenH5414 →2011 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
יְבָרֶכְךָ֖he will bless you
yevarekhaH1288 →330 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Corinthians 16:2On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed.
it leads to
- Malachi 3:9–10
You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me.
- Luke 16:10
Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
- Acts 20:7
On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Since Paul was ready to leave the next day, he talked to them and kept on speaking until midnight.
- Deuteronomy 15:11–14
For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your…
- Deuteronomy 8:18
But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.
- Malachi 3:9–10
Through
2 Corinthians 8:10And this is my opinion about what is helpful for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give, but even to have such a desire.
it leads to
- Hebrews 13:16
And do not neglect to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
- 1 Timothy 6:18–19
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
- Hebrews 13:16
Through
Leviticus 12:8But if she cannot afford a lamb, she shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering. Then the priest will make atonement…
it leads to
- Leviticus 5:7
If, however, he cannot afford a lamb, he may bring to the LORD as restitution for his sin two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt…
- Leviticus 5:7
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 2.2.5.