Deuteronomy 16:3
in Deuteronomy 16You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
KJV
Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 16
Commentary
7 notes on this verseChrist our passover being sacrificed for us, and we having participated in the blessed fruits of that sacrifice to our comfort, let us keep the feast in a holy conversation, free from the leaven of malice towards our brethren and hypocrisy towards God, and with the unleavened bread of sincerity and love.
This site's exposition
Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it
on Deuteronomy 16:3-4
Unleavened bread is given a name here, the bread of affliction, and a reason, that thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste. The command attached to it is remember, which falls fourteen times in this book and fastens every time on an event rather than a doctrine, and verses 3 and 12 are two of the fourteen. Verse 4 repeats the rule of Exodus 12:10 and Exodus 34:25 that nothing of the flesh remain all night, and Adam Clarke reads the plain taste of the bread as the thing that carried the memory.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The feast of pentecost, ver. 9-12 That of tabernacles, ver. 13-15. All the males are to attend them, ver. 16, 17. An appointment of Judges and officers, ver. 18-20.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-13/16/18-anchored-1-8
), as a constant inducement to obedience." Thus we celebrate the memorial of Christ's death at certain times, that we may remember it at all times, as a reason why we should live to him that died for us and rose again. Seven weeks after the passover the feast of pentecost was to be observed, concerning which they are here directed, 1.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates--The passover was to be observed nowhere but in the court of the tabernacle or temple, as it was not a religious feast or sacramental occasion merely, but an actual sacrifice (Ex 12:27;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Bread of affliction - Because, being baked without leaven, it was unsavoury, and put them in mind of their afflictive bondage in Egypt.
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
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תֹאכַ֤ל | tokhal | you will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| עָלָיו֙ | ʾalav | with it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חָמֵ֔ץ | chametz | leaven | H2557 → | |
| שִׁבְעַ֥ת | shivat | seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| יָמִ֛ים | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| תֹּֽאכַל־ | tokhal- | you will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| עָלָ֥יו | ʾalav | with it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מַצּ֖וֹת | matzot | unleavened bread<s> | H4682 → | 53 times |
| לֶ֣חֶם | lechem | bread of | H3899 → | 298 times |
| עֹ֑נִי | ʾoni | affliction | H6040 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בְחִפָּז֗וֹן | vechipazon | in haste | H2649 → | |
| יָצָ֙אתָ֙ | yatzata | you came out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵאֶ֣רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| לְמַ֣עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| תִּזְכֹּר֔ | tizkor | you may remember | H2142 → | 230 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| י֤וֹם | yom | [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| צֵֽאתְךָ֙ | tzetekha | coming out you | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵאֶ֣רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| יְמֵ֥י | yemei | [the] days of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| חַיֶּֽיךָ׃ | chaiyeikha | life your | H2416 → | 498 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תֹאכַ֤לyou will eat
tokhalH398 →810 times
עָלָיו֙with it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
חָמֵ֔ץleaven
chametzH2557 →
שִׁבְעַ֥תseven
shivatH7651 →394 times
יָמִ֛יםdays
yamimH3117 →2304 times
תֹּֽאכַל־you will eat
tokhal-H398 →810 times
עָלָ֥יוwith it
ʾalavH5921 →5755 times
מַצּ֖וֹתunleavened bread<s>
matzotH4682 →53 times
לֶ֣חֶםbread of
lechemH3899 →298 times
עֹ֑נִיaffliction
ʾoniH6040 →
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
בְחִפָּז֗וֹןin haste
vechipazonH2649 →
יָצָ֙אתָ֙you came out
yatzataH3318 →1067 times
מֵאֶ֣רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
לְמַ֣עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
תִּזְכֹּר֔you may remember
tizkorH2142 →230 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
י֤וֹם[the] day of
yomH3117 →2304 times
צֵֽאתְךָ֙coming out you
tzetekhaH3318 →1067 times
מֵאֶ֣רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
יְמֵ֥י[the] days of
yemeiH3117 →2304 times
חַיֶּֽיךָ׃life your
chaiyeikhaH2416 →498 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
Exodus 12:8They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
it leads to
- Exodus 34:25
Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to Me along with anything leavened, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.
- Deuteronomy 16:7
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.
- Deuteronomy 16:3–4
You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste—so that you…
- Exodus 34:25
Through
Exodus 12:39Since their dough had no leaven, the people baked what they had brought out of Egypt into unleavened loaves. For when they had been driven out of Egypt, they could not delay and had…
it leads to
- Exodus 6:1
But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for because of My mighty hand he will let the people go; because of My strong hand he…
- Exodus 11:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring upon Pharaoh and Egypt one more plague. After that, he will allow you to leave this place. And when he lets you go, he will…
- Exodus 6:1
Through
Numbers 9:11Such people are to observe it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the second month. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs;
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 30:2–15
For the king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem had decided to keep the Passover in the second month,
- 2 Chronicles 30:2–15
Through
Exodus 34:18You are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, you are to eat unleavened bread as I commanded you. For in the…
it leads to
- Exodus 13:4
Today, in the month of Abib, you are leaving.
- Leviticus 23:6
On the fifteenth day of the same month begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.
- Exodus 13:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.