Deuteronomy 16:7
in Deuteronomy 16And 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
KJV
And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
⋯
This verse in Deuteronomy 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns
on Deuteronomy 16:5-7
Exodus 12 kept the Passover in the houses with blood on the doorposts, and here it may not be killed “in any of the towns”. Albert Barnes takes this gathering of worship to one sanctuary as the chapter's point. The older commentators hold both accounts by reading Exodus 12 as the ordinance of the night in Egypt and this chapter as its standing form in the land.
This site's exposition
you shall roast it and eat
Exodus 12:8-9 required the first Passover roasted over the fire. Adam Clarke says the flesh of the feasts was eaten fresh, a necessity in that climate, and nothing was left until morning.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 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
The passover was itself a sacrifice; hence Christ, as our passover, is said to be sacrificed for us ( 1 Cor. v. 7 ), and many other sacrifices were offered during the seven days of the feast ( Num. xxviii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Some think that they might, if they pleased, return the very morning after the paschal lamb was killed and eaten, the priests and Levites being sufficient to carry on the rest of the week's work; but the first day of the seven is so far from being the day of their dispersion that it is expressly appointed for a holy convocation ( Lev. xxiii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose,....
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבִשַּׁלְתָּ֙ | uvishalta | and you will cook [it] | H1310 → | |
| וְאָ֣כַלְתָּ֔ | veakhalta | and you will eat [it] | H398 → | 810 times |
| בַּמָּק֕וֹם | bamakom | in the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִבְחַ֛ר | yivchar | he will choose | H977 → | 171 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בּ֑וֹ | bo | <in> it | ||
| וּפָנִ֣יתָ | ufanita | and you will turn | H6437 → | 135 times |
| בַבֹּ֔קֶר | vaboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וְהָלַכְתָּ֖ | vehalakhta | and you will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְאֹהָלֶֽיךָ׃ | leohaleikha | to tents your | H168 → | 345 times |
וּבִשַּׁלְתָּ֙and you will cook [it]
uvishaltaH1310 →
וְאָ֣כַלְתָּ֔and you will eat [it]
veakhaltaH398 →810 times
בַּמָּק֕וֹםin the place
bamakomH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִבְחַ֛רhe will choose
yivcharH977 →171 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
בּ֑וֹ<in> it
bo
וּפָנִ֣יתָand you will turn
ufanitaH6437 →135 times
בַבֹּ֔קֶרin the morning
vabokerH1242 →214 times
וְהָלַכְתָּ֖and you will go
vehalakhtaH1980 →1546 times
לְאֹהָלֶֽיךָ׃to tents your
leohaleikhaH168 →345 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
John 11:55Now the Jewish Passover was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 30:17–20
Since there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the Passover lambs for every unclean person to consecrate the lambs to the LORD.
- Hebrews 9:13–14
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that their bodies are clean,
- 2 Chronicles 30:17–20
Through
John 2:23While He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the signs He was doing and believed in His name.
it leads to
Through
Deuteronomy 16:2You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
- Deuteronomy 12:26
But you are to take your holy things and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose.
- Deuteronomy 12:5
Through
2 Chronicles 35:13They roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the regulation, and they boiled the other holy offerings in pots, kettles, and bowls and quickly brought them to all the people.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:8–9
They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
- 1 Samuel 2:13–15
or for the custom of the priests with the people. When any man offered a sacrifice, the servant of the priest would come with a three-pronged meat fork while the meat was boiling
- Exodus 12:8–9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
