Deuteronomy 16:17
in Deuteronomy 16Everyone must appear with a gift as he is able, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he hath given thee.
KJV
Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 16
Commentary
4 notes on this verseEvery man shall give as he is able,.... The quantity to be given is not fixed in the law, but the wise men appointed it, as observed on Deu 16:16 but it is left by the Lord to the generosity of the people, only giving this general rule, that they should do according to their ability, and as the Lord had prospered them; see 1Co 16:2 so Jarchi,"every man that hath many eatables and much goods shall bring many burnt offerings and many peace offerings.''
This site's exposition
Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God
on Deuteronomy 16:16-17
The same three pilgrimages are commanded at Exodus 23:14-17 and 34:23, and the men owe attendance and a gift. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe that no command was laid on the women. Yet Hannah goes up at 1 Samuel 1:7, and Jesus' family every year at Luke 2:41.
This site's exposition
a gift as he is able
Every man appears at the three feasts with a gift as he is able. John Gill reports that the law left the amount to the giver and the Jewish sages later fixed one. Paul measures a gift by what one has at 2 Corinthians 8:12.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
), as often before, Exod. xxiii. The general commands concerning them are, 1. That all the males must then make their personal appearance before God, that by their frequent meeting to worship God, at the same place, and by the same rule, they might be kept faithful and constant to that holy religion which was established among them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+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.
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
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִ֖ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| כְּמַתְּנַ֣ת | kematenat | according to [the] gift of | H4979 → | |
| יָד֑וֹ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| כְּבִרְכַּ֛ת | kevirkat | according to [the] blessing of | H1293 → | 69 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָֽתַן־ | natan- | he has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָֽךְ׃ ס | lakh | to you |
אִ֖ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
כְּמַתְּנַ֣תaccording to [the] gift of
kematenatH4979 →
יָד֑וֹhand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
כְּבִרְכַּ֛תaccording to [the] blessing of
kevirkatH1293 →69 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָֽתַן־he has given
natan-H5414 →2011 times
לָֽךְ׃ סto you
lakh
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
2 Corinthians 8:12For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
it leads to
- Mark 12:42–44
Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius.
- 2 Corinthians 9:7
Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
- Luke 21:1–4
Then Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury,
- Exodus 35:29
So all the men and women of the Israelites whose hearts prompted them brought a freewill offering to the LORD for all the work that the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.
- Exodus 35:21–22
And everyone whose heart stirred him and whose spirit prompted him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its services, and for the…
- Mark 12:42–44
Through
Deuteronomy 16:10And 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,
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 16:2
On 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.
- 2 Corinthians 8:10
And 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.
- 1 Corinthians 16:2
Through
Leviticus 27:8But if the one making the vow is too poor to pay the valuation, he is to present the person before the priest, who shall set the value according to what the one making…
it leads to
- Mark 14:7
The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have Me.
- Mark 14:7
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.