Deuteronomy 16:14
in Deuteronomy 16And you shall rejoice in your feast—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite, and the sojourner, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
KJV
And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days
on Deuteronomy 16:13-15
Verse 15 makes the blessing the ground of the joy, “because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce”. Matthew Henry reads that order as joy resting on a promise.
This site's exposition
you shall rejoice in your feast
Nehemiah 8:14-17 records the Feast of Tabernacles kept in booths after the exile, as no generation had kept it from the days of Joshua. At 8:10 the people send portions to those with nothing prepared, the care this verse gives the foreigner, the fatherless and the widows.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
12 , &c.), because the care of these belonged to the priests and Levites, who had not so much need of a repetition as the people had, and because the spiritual part of the service, which consisted in holy joy, was most pleasing to God, and was to be the perpetual duty of a gospel conversation, of which this feast was typical.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast,.... At this feast of tabernacles and ingathering of the fruits of the earth, in token of gratitude and thankfulness for the goodness of God bestowed on them; the Targum of Jonathan adds, with the flute and the pipe, making use of instrumental music to increase the joy on this occasion: thou and thy son, &c. See Gill on Deu 16:11.
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.
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)
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ | vesamachta | and you will rejoice | H8055 → | 155 times |
| בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָ | bechagekha | at festival your | H2282 → | 62 times |
| אַתָּ֨ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וּבִנְךָ֤ | uvinkha | and son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וּבִתֶּ֙ךָ֙ | uvitekha | and daughter your | H1323 → | 588 times |
| וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ | veavdekha | and [male] servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| וַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ | vaamatekha | and female servant your | H519 → | 56 times |
| וְהַלֵּוִ֗י | vehalevi | and the Levite | H3881 → | 291 times |
| וְהַגֵּ֛ר | vehager | and the sojourner | H1616 → | 92 times |
| וְהַיָּת֥וֹם | vehaiyatom | and the fatherless one | H3490 → | 42 times |
| וְהָאַלְמָנָ֖ה | vehaalmanah | and the widow | H490 → | 56 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ | bishareikha | [are] in gates your | H8179 → | 374 times |
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖and you will rejoice
vesamachtaH8055 →155 times
בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָat festival your
bechagekhaH2282 →62 times
אַתָּ֨הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וּבִנְךָ֤and son your
uvinkhaH1121 →4930 times
וּבִתֶּ֙ךָ֙and daughter your
uvitekhaH1323 →588 times
וְעַבְדְּךָ֣and [male] servant your
veavdekhaH5650 →799 times
וַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָand female servant your
vaamatekhaH519 →56 times
וְהַלֵּוִ֗יand the Levite
vehaleviH3881 →291 times
וְהַגֵּ֛רand the sojourner
vehagerH1616 →92 times
וְהַיָּת֥וֹםand the fatherless one
vehaiyatomH3490 →42 times
וְהָאַלְמָנָ֖הand the widow
vehaalmanahH490 →56 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃[are] in gates your
bishareikhaH8179 →374 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 Thessalonians 5:16Rejoice at all times.
it leads to
- Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
- Matthew 5:12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
- 2 Corinthians 6:10
sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
- Luke 10:20
Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
- Philippians 4:4
Through
Deuteronomy 16:11and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:7
There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
- Deuteronomy 12:12
And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
- Deuteronomy 12:7
Through
Isaiah 30:29You will sing as on the night of a holy festival, and your heart will rejoice like one who walks to the music of a flute, going up to the mountain of the LORD,…
it leads to
- Psalms 42:4
These things come to mind as I pour out my soul: how I walked with the multitude, leading the procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and praise.
- Psalms 42:4
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.