Preface:    Basic information about the feasts of Israel are gathered here into one chapter. There is a clue at the end which suggests that Moses, possibly with help from Joshua and/or Aaron, chose how to arrange and organize some of the material found in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Even though the material is more or less given in chronological order, this might not always be the case.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 23 (in 140 characters or less): Proclaim as feasts: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Fifty Days Later, the Day of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement and Booths.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 23, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 23:

Introduction

         vv.     1–

         vv. 

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         vv. 

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 23 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 23 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 23

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 23

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 23

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 23

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 23

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 23

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 23 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 23 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 23)

         Introduction 

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Leviticus 23 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 23

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 23

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 23

         Summary 

         Addendum          Extensive Footnote on Overview of Feasts (the Heritage Bible)

         Addendum          Extensive Footnote on Overview of Feasts (Christian Community Bible)

         Addendum          Extensive Footnote on Feasts of the Firstfruits (Christian Community Bible)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 23

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 23

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 23

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 23

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An Introduction to Leviticus 23

I ntroduction: Leviticus 23 lists the feasts which God appointed for Israel to celebrate. My unsaved understanding of Christianity, particularly Old Testament Christianity, was that there was a lot of vowing and fasting. Quite the contrary, God required the Jews to celebrate their nationally exclusive relationship with Him. We will find out in this chapter that the word feasts is not the proper translation anymore than holiday connotes holy day. These national observances describe the relationship of Israel to God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is rarely seen; only inferred by the anointing of oil, as the Holy Spirit did not have the same personal relationship with the individual Jews as we have in the Church Age (however, the Holy Spirit obviously acted directly in the life of the nation Israel as a whole and in the lives of some individuals).

Timeline for Leviticus

There is very little narrative in the book of Leviticus; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

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Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Leviticus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so speaks Y^ehowah unto Moses to say, “Speak unto sons of Israel and you have said unto them, ‘Feasts of Y^ehowah you (all) will assemble them, convocations of holiness. These, they [are] My feasts.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  . Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall call holy.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mar-Yah spoke to Mosha, saying,

"Speak to the B'nai Yisrael, and tell them, 'The set feasts of Mar-Yah, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my set feasts.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to the children of Israel, and you shall say unto them, The feasts of the Lord which you shall call holy assemblies, these are My feasts.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to Moses, 

Say to the children of Israel, These are the fixed feasts of the Lord, which you will keep for holy meetings: these are my feasts.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: You will announce the LORD'S chosen festivals as holy meetings. These are my special festivals.

God’s Word™                         The LORD spoke to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: These are the appointed festivals with the LORD, which you must announce as holy assemblies.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD gave Moses the following regulations for the religious festivals, when the people of Israel are to gather for worship.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, The appointed seasons of Yahweh, those which you shall proclaim holy meetings; My appointed seasons, they are these.

Contemporary English V.       .

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

UnfoldingWord (Simplified)    Yahweh said to Moses,  "Tell the Israelites about the festivals for Yahweh, the days when you all must gather together in holy assemblies on set times each year, as festivals in which you worship me.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        .

Berean Study Bible                .

Conservapedia                       .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                          And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, The appointed meetings² of Jehovah, which you shall call to be holy called assemblies, these are my appointed meetings.

²Extensive footnote on the feasts is placed in the Addendum.

International Standard V        Scheduled Festivals

The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell the Israelis, ‘These are my festival times appointed by the Lord [Lit. appointed times for festivals, and so throughout the chapter] that you are to declare as sacred assemblies.

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Word Literal Text   . regular

Urim-Thummim Version         YHWH spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, The Appointed Place of YHWH is commissioned for sacred assembly and for my appointed seasons.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them:
Yahweh's event-times, which you will call holy-days, these are they, my events.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  The annual feasts

• Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: You proclaim holy assemblies on the appointed feasts of Yahweh, which are these:...

The extensive footnote on this verse is placed in the Addendum.

New American Bible(2011)    .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989            .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 Special Days: The Sabbath

God spoke to Moses, telling him to

speak to the Israelites and say to them:

There are special times that you must celebrate as sacred holidays to God. The following are My special times:... The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

The Scriptures–2009              And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, 

“Speak to the children of Yisra’ěl, and say to them, ‘The appointed times of יהוה, which you are to proclaim as set-apart gatherings, My appointed times, are these:...

Tree of Life Version                Then Adonai spoke to Moses saying:

“Speak to Bnei-Yisrael, and tell them: These are the appointed moadim of Adonai, which you are to proclaim to be holy convocations—My moadim.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            (Leviticus 23 : The Holy Festivals)

AND JESUS SPOKE TO MOSES, SAYING,

“SPEAK TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, AND YOU SHALL SAY UNTO THEM, ‘«THE FIESTAS OF JESUS» WHICH YOU SHALL CALL HOLY-SUMMONED ASSEMBLIES, THESE ARE MY FIESTAS. †(Contrary to the popular traditional doctrines of the Church of Assyrian Babylon including Rome, these are not the Feasts of Moses. These are the Festivals of JESUS. He summons/calls/commands us to these meetings. They are still commanded to this day. Zechariah 14, 1Corinthians 5:8, Hebrews 4:9. We are commanded to assemble with other true followers of JESUS if it is possible for us to find such an assembly. But we are not commanded to assemble with false churches. Hebrews 10:24 to Hebrews 10:31, Jeremiah 15:17)

Awful Scroll Bible                   Sustains To Become was to speak to Moses, to the intent:

Be speaking to the sons of Contends-with-he-mighty, even is you to have said: These are the rendezvous of Sustains To Become that were to be proclaimed as being set apart decrees, at the appointed place:...

Concordant Literal Version    .

exeGeses companion Bible   THE TORAH ON SEASONS

And Yah Veh words to Mosheh, saying,

Word to the sons of Yisra El, and say to them,

The seasons of Yah Veh

to recall to be holy convocations

are my seasons.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Speak unto the Bnei Yisroel, and say unto them, Concerning the Mo'adim of Hashem, which ye shall proclaim to be mikra'ei kodesh, even these are My Mo'adim.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B.                                      § 19. Appointed Seasons.

Chapter 23.

And Yahweh spake unto Mosesˎ saying:

Speak unto the sons of Israelˎ and thou shalt say unto them,

<As for the appointed seasons of Yahweh, which ye shall proclaim as holy convocations> ||these|| are they—my appointed seasons:—.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    .

Lexham English Bible            Yahweh’s Feasts

Then [Or “And”] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

“Speak to the Israelites, [Literally “sons/children of Israel”] and say to them, ‘The festivals of Yahweh that you shall proclaim are holy assemblies; these are my appointed times.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 .

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible(2011)    .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  . concerning

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say unto them, With respect to the festivals of the Lord, which you shall proclaim holy, set days; these are my festivals.

Context Group Version          And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, The set feasts of YHWH, which you (pl) shall proclaim to be special convocations, even these are my set feasts.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    . gatherings

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, The appointed feasts of Jehovah, which you* will proclaim to be holy assemblies, even these are my appointed feasts.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and YHWH spoke to Mosheh saying, speak to the sons of Yisra'eyl, and you will say to them, the appointed times of YHWH that you will call out, these are special meetings, they are appointed times.

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young's Updated LT              .

The gist of this passage: 

Translation: Y^ehowah spoke to Moses, saying,...

God spoke to Moses again.

Moses did not have just one or two really long conversations with God. He spoke with God often—perhaps several times a day at times—and he recorded what God said to him.

Translation: ...“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them,...

The next information was for all the people of Israel.

Translation: ...‘[Regarding] the feasts of Y^ehowah: you (all) will assemble to them [as] holy convocations.

The feasts of Y^ehowah is almost a title for this section. These are special convocations and the people of Israel were supposed to assemble for them.

First the word convocation, a word we have encountered only once before in Exodus 12:16. Mîq^erâ’ (א ָר  ׃ק  ̣מ) [pronounced mik-RAW] and we need to look at Neh. 8:8 to understand this word. During the time of Moses, they understood the meaning of the word. Subsequently, the meaning is not fully contained in the passages where this word occurs (Leviticus 23:2–4, 7–8, 21, 24, 27, 35–37 Numbers 10:2 28:18, 25–26 29:1, 7, 12 Isaiah 1:13 4:5). From the those passages we understand that there is a gathering of some sort. However, in Neh. 8:8 the meaning is fully revealed. And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which Y^ehowah had spoken to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who listened with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it before the square which was in front of the Water gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra stood at a wooden podium which they had constructed for this [lit., the] purpose...and Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed Y^ehowah the great God. And all the people answered, "Amen Amen!" while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with faces to the ground...and they read from the book, from the Law of God, exegeting to give sense so that they understood the reading (Neh. 8:1–8). Our word, mîk^erâ (מִקְרָא) [pronounced mihk-RAW] is that last word. The verbal cognate is qârâʾ (קָרָא) [pronounced kaw-RAW] which means to encounter. Strong's #7121 BDB #894. Obviously, the translation, convocation, assembly does not fully convey what is meant. mîk^erâ (מִקְרָא) [pronounced mihk-RAW] means an assembly for the purpose of encountering God through the exegeting of His Word. Strong’s #4744 BDB #896.

The word feast confuses the issue somewhat in the same way that convocation confuses the meaning of mîk^erâ (מִקְרָא) [pronounced mihk-RAW]; the same way Christmas confuses the meaning of the first advent.

Translation: These [assemblies], they [are] My feasts. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

These assemblies were God’s feasts.

This is one of those words that began by meaning one thing and then ended up meaning some which was related but distorted. môwʿêd (מוֹעֵד) [pronounced moh-ĢADE] means a specific time, a predetermined time, an appointed time, as we find in Genesis 1:!4 17:21 18:14 21:2. Strong's #4150 BDB #417. During these appointed or set times God would expect the Jews to set aside some time for the exegeting of His Word and for sacrifices. The NASB, Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible and The Emphasized Bible accurately render this as either appointed times or appointed seasons. Certainly, during this time period, the people gather and eat, just as we often do on Christmas and Easter, along with other rituals and traditions that we do. However, the meaning of the word gets lost in the celebration and thereby, we often lose the meaning of the celebration.

Leviticus 23:1–2 Y^ehowah spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘[Regarding] the feasts of Y^ehowah: you (all) will assemble to them [as] holy convocations. These [assemblies], they [are] My feasts. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Prior to this, we have had the mention of a few assemblies in Exodus 12 and 23:14–19 from approximately a year prior. This was the inception. In Exodus, God gave the Jews the bare-bones minimum with which to begin their first year of freedom. Had this been a book written by priests and other religious types after the fact (as some have claimed), then we would not have things scattered like this. All the feasts would be found in one place; there would be no reason to name a couple feasts back in Exodus and then, a year later, name them and some others. God was speaking to Moses to speak to the people. He gave them as much as they could take in and perform. As time went on, Y^ehowah added to the law and expanded some areas. So He did with the feast days.

Leviticus 23:1–2 Y^ehowah spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘[Regarding] the feasts of Y^ehowah: you (all) will assemble to them [as] holy convocations. These [assemblies], they [are] My feasts. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Leviticus 23:1–2 Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and, regarding the feasts of Jehovah, you will say this to them: ‘You will assemble to My feasts, as they are set-apart convocations. These assemblies are specifically My feasts. (Kukis paraphrase)

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Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Six days will be done work and the day the seventh [is] a Sabbath of Sabbath-rest, a convocation of holiness; all work you (all) will not do. A Sabbath she [is] to Y^ehowah in all your habitations.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) Six days shall ye do work: the seventh day, because it is the rest of the sabbath, shall be called holy. You shall do no work on that day: it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your habitations.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        "'Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no manner of work. It is a Sabbath to Mar-Yah in all your dwellings.

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       Six days shall you do work, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath; a rest, a holy convocation to the Lord: you shall not do any work, it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             On six days work may be done; but the seventh day is a special day of rest, a time for worship; you may do no sort of work: it is a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you may be living.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  "Work for six days, but the seventh day, the Sabbath, will be a special day of rest, a holy meeting. You must not do any work. It is a day of rest to honor the LORD in all your homes.

God’s Word™                         You may work for six days. But the seventh day is a day of worship, a day when you don't work, a holy assembly. Don't do any work. It is the LORD'S day of worship wherever you live.

Good News Bible (TEV)         You have six days in which to do your work, but remember that the seventh day, the Sabbath, is a day of rest. On that day do not work, but gather for worship. The Sabbath belongs to the LORD, no matter where you live.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       You have six days when you can do your work, but the seventh day of each week is holy because it belongs to me. No matter where you live, you must rest on the Sabbath and come together for worship. This law will never change.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      You may work for six days each week, but on the seventh day you must not do any work. You must rest. It is a sacred day when you must gather together to worship me. Wherever you live, you must rest on that day.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                .

Christian Standard Bible        .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                 Work shall be done six days, and the seventh day is the Sabbath, great solemn Sabbath,³ a holy called assembly; you shall do no work in it; it is the Sabbath of Jehovah in all your dwellings.

³ 23:3,24 Sabbath, great solemn Sabbath. shabbath shabbathown, a very strong expression. Most translations translate it a Sabbath of rest, but the word for rest is shabath, 7673 in Strong’s dictionary. Shabbath shabbathown in 23:3 are 7676, the Sabbath, and 7677, a great solemn Sabbath. The doubling of the word, which is quite common in the Hebrew Bible, means that God is emphasizing the fact as extremely important. Shabbathown by itself, as in 23:24, means a great solemn Sabbath.

International Standard V        Six days you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a sacred assembly. You are not to do any work. It’s a Sabbath to the Lord wherever you live. [Lit. Lord in all your dwelling places, and so throughout the chapter]

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Urim-Thummim Version         For 6 days your work will be done but the 7th day is the Sabbath of rest, a sacred assembly, you will not do any work on that day because its the Sabbath of YHWH in all your dwellings.

Wikipedia Bible Project          Six days will you do your crafts, and on the seventh day, sabbath rest, holy-day, all work you will not do. It is a rest-day for Yahweh, in all your settlements.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  After six days in which work shall be done, there is a sabbath of complete rest on the seventh day, a holy assembly when no work shall be done; it is a sabbath to Yahweh in all your houses.

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               .

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              ‘Six days work is done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a set-apart gathering. You do no work, it is a Sabbath to יהוה in all your dwellings.

Tree of Life Version                “Work may be done for six days, but the seventh day is a Shabbat of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You are to do no work—it is a Shabbat to Adonai in all your dwellings.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            (The Weekly 7th Day)

SIX DAYS SHALL YOU DO WORK, BUT ON THE SEVENTH DAY IS THE REST DAY; A REST, A HOLY SUMMONED ASSEMBLY TO JESUS: YOU SHALL NOT DO ANY WORK, IT IS A REST DAY TO JESUS IN ALL YOUR DWELLINGS. †(The 7th day of Commanded Rest & Worship is one of the 10 Commandments & is not a temporary ordinance. The 7th day is also the first of all the other Festivals. You cannot separate the 7th Day from the other Festivals. We must observe the 7th Day of Rest & Worship plus all the other Holy Summoned Assemblies/Festivals. Jesus & all of the Apostles & disciples kept all of the Festivals even after Jesus' Crucifixion & Resurrection.)

Awful Scroll Bible                   For six days, that of your business was you to produce, and the seventh day is the sabbath rest, a being set apart decreeing - was you to produce of your business, on the sabbath of Sustains To Become in your assembly? -

Concordant Literal Version    Six days shall work be done, yet on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of cessation, a holy meeting. You shall do no work at all. This is a sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings.

exeGeses companion Bible   SEASON OF SHABBATH

Six days work the work:

but the seventh day is the shabbath of shabbathism

- a holy convocation;

work no work therein:

it is the shabbath of Yah Veh in all your settlements.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Sheshet yamim shall work be done; but the yom hashevi'i is the Shabbos of Shabbaton, a mikra kodesh; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Shabbos to Hashem in all your dwellings.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. <Six days> shall work be done, but <on the seventh day> shall there be a sabbath of sacred restˎ a holy convocation, <no work> shall ye do,—<a sabbath> shall it be unto Yahweh, in all your dwellings.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    

Lexham English Bible            Yahweh’s Sabbath

“ ‘For six days work is to be done, and on the seventh day shall be a Sabbath of complete rest, [Literally “a Sabbath of ‘Sabbathation.’ ” “Sabbathation” is not a real word, but it is devised as an attempt to convey the sounds of the related nouns in the Hebrew phrase] a holy assembly; you shall not do any work; it shall be a Sabbath for Yahweh in all your dwellings.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 You may do work during the six weekdays, but Saturday is a Sabbath of Sabbaths. It is a sacred holiday to God, when you shall do no work. Wherever you may live, it is God's Sabbath.

work

See Exodus 20:10.

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            .

Context Group Version          Six days shall work be done: but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a special convocation; you (pl) shall do no manner of work: it is a Sabbath to YHWH in all your (pl) dwellings.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    Work is to be done six days, and in the seventh day shall be a sabbath of rest, a holy gathering; you shall do no work; it is a sabbath to Jehovah in all your dwellings.

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        [For] six days work is done, and in the seventh day [is] a Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; you do no work; it [is] a Sabbath to YHWH in all your dwellings.

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  Six days will work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy assembly. You* will not do any work. It is a Sabbath to Jehovah in all your* dwellings.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    Six days business will be done, and in the seventh day is a ceasing rest period, a special meeting, no business will be done, she is a ceasing for YHWH in all your settling places.

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath observance of rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work; it is the Sabbath of Jehovah in all your dwellings.

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage: 

Translation: Work will be done [for] six days...

God required the Hebrew people to work for six days.

Translation: ...but the seventh day is a Sabbath of Sabbath-rest, a holy convocation—...

Shâbbath (שָבַּת) [pronounced shawb-BAHTH] is the Hebrew word for Sabbath, their day of rest once everything had been accomplished or everything had been completed. This is obviously a transliteration, which is a place where meanings are often lost or distorted. Strong's #7676 BDB #992. This comes from the word shâbath (שָבַת) [pronounced shaw-BAHTH], which means to cease, to desist. Strong’s #7673 BDB #991 & #992. It is a time when normal life, particularly work, ceases. The purposes are many. There will be sacrifices made, illustrating the substitutionary death of our Lord on our behalf; God's Word will be read and exegeted (carefully explained); the people will be gathered, as God will do when He returns; they will cease from their labors, as salvation is an end to our own work and the standing upon the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The seventh day to them was the Sabbath, a Sabbath rest. It would be an assembly set apart to God.

It is not clear that the people went anywhere even though the word assembly is used here.

Translation: ...you (all) will not do any work.

No work is to be done on the Sabbath.

Translation: It [is] a Sabbath to Y^ehowah in all your dwellings. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

This suggests more that the Sabbath day took place in their dwellings; in their homes.

Leviticus 23:3 Work will be done [for] six days but the seventh day is a Sabbath of Sabbath-rest, a holy convocation—you (all) will not do any work. It [is] a Sabbath to Y^ehowah in all your dwellings. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

V. 3 is specifically not a feast day. It is given here to differentiate Y^ehowah's appointed times from the Sabbaths.

We so far have gone three verses into Leviticus 23. In your own personal devotion time when you decided to read the whole Bible, IF you ever got this fat, how long did it take you to read these last two verses? 15 seconds? And how much did you get out of them? Nothing? God has designed for you to be led through His Word by a pastor-teacher, who neither earned nor deserved his gift. This is how your soul is filled with truth; with doctrine. This is the only way to function in the Christian life. You do not read for yourself and you do not get into groups and share your ignorance ("This is what this passage means to me"). "If any man desires to do His will, he will know of the teaching [the doctrine], whether it is of God or I speak from Myself." (John 7:17).

Leviticus 23:3 Work will be done [for] six days but the seventh day is a Sabbath of Sabbath-rest, a holy convocation—you (all) will not do any work. It [is] a Sabbath to Y^ehowah in all your dwellings. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

The first and most fundamental day of God is the Sabbath, the day of rest.

Leviticus 23:3 Work is to be done over a period of six days, but then, the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest, a set-apart observed holiday, and on that day, you will do no work. It is a Sabbath day to Jehovah in all of your homes. (Kukis paraphrase)

——————————

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        These [are] set-feasts of Y^ehowah, assemblies of holiness that you (all) will proclaim them in their season.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) These also are the holy days of the Lord, which you must celebrate in their seasons.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        "'These are the set feasts of Mar-Yah, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their appointed season.

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       These are the feasts to the Lord, holy convocations, which you shall call in their seasons.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             These are the fixed feasts of the Lord, the holy days of worship which you will keep at their regular times.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  "These are the LORD'S chosen festivals. You will announce the holy meetings at the times chosen for them.

God’s Word™                         "The following are the LORD'S appointed festivals with holy assemblies, which you must announce at their appointed times.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Proclaim the following festivals at the appointed times.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       Passover is another time when you must come together to worship me, and it must be celebrated on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month of each year.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      There are festivals that I am establishing for you. These will be sacred days when you must gather together to worship me.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                . sacred assemblies

Christian Standard Bible        .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                 These are the appointed meetings of Jehovah, even holy called assemblies, which you shall call in their appointed meetings.

International Standard V        These are the Lords appointed festivals, sacred assemblies that you are to declare at their appointed time.

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    These are the appointed festivals of Yahweh, the holy assemblies that you must announce at their appointed times:...

Urim-Thummim Version         These are the appointed seasonal festivals of YHWH, even sacred assemblies that you will commission for the Appointed Place.

Wikipedia Bible Project          Yahweh's events, holy-days which you will call them, in their times.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Then there are the appointed feasts of Yahweh at the times fixed for them, when you are to proclaim holy assemblies.

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               Passover

These are God's festivals that you must celebrate as sacred holidays at their appropriate times:...

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              ‘These are the appointed times of ????, set-apart gatherings which you are to proclaim at their appointed times.

Tree of Life Version                “These are the appointed feasts of Adonai, holy convocations which you are to proclaim in their appointed season.

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            · THESE ARE THE FIESTAS TO JESUS, HOLY SUMMONED ASSEMBLIES, WHICH YOU SHALL CALL IN THEIR SEASONS.

Awful Scroll Bible                   Even are these the rendezvous of Sustains To Become the being set apart decrees, that was to be proclaimed at the appointed times:...

Concordant Literal Version    .

exeGeses companion Bible   SEASONS TO RECALL

These are the seasons of Yah Veh

- holy convocations

to recall in their seasons.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           These are the Moa'dim of Hashem, even mikra'ei kodesh, which ye shall proclaim in their mo'adim.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. ||These|| are the appointed seasons of Yahweh, holy convocations,—which ye shall proclaim in their appointed season:—...

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                .

The Expanded Bible              .

Kretzmann’s Commentary    

Lexham English Bible            The Passover

“ ‘These are Yahweh’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you shall proclaim at [Or “on”] their appointed time.

Syndein/Thieme                     .

The Voice                               .

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           .

The Geneva Bible                  .

Kaplan Translation                 .

NET Bible®                             .

New American Bible (2011)   .

New Catholic Bible                 .

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. .

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  .

C. Thomson Updated OT       .

Charles Thomson OT            .

Context Group Version          These are the set feasts of YHWH, even special convocations, which you (pl) shall proclaim in their appointed season.

English Standard Version      .

Green’s Literal Translation    These are appointed seasons of Jehovah, holy gatherings which you shall proclaim in their appointed seasons:...

Legacy Standard Bible           .

Literal Standard Version        .

Modern English Version         .

Modern Literal Version 2020  These are the set feasts of Jehovah, even holy assemblies, which you* will proclaim in their appointed season.

New American Standard B.    .

New European Version          .

New King James Version       .

Niobi Study Bible                   .

Owen's Translation                .

Revised Mechanical Trans.    These are the appointed times of YHWH, special meetings which you will call out in their appointed time.

Updated Bible Version 2.17   .

A Voice in the Wilderness      .

Webster’s Bible Translation  .

World English Bible                .

Young's Literal Translation     .

Young’s Updated LT             .

The gist of this passage: 

Translation: [What follows are] the set-feasts of Y^ehowah,...

This chapter is going to list all of the holy gathers that the Hebrew people were to take part in. This would take place while they are in the desert-wilderness and after they have entered into the land of promise.

They are called set-feasts simply because they occur on specific days each year.

Translation: ...holy convocations that you (all) will proclaim in their season. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Their season is actually the singular of the word translated set-feasts in this verse. Even though it is the same word, I believed that their time or their season conveyed better what was being said.

These particular days are going to be for the gathering of the people of Israel.

Leviticus 23:4 [What follows are] the set-feasts of Y^ehowah, holy convocations that you (all) will proclaim in their season. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

During the times appointed, Moses is to read, to proclaim to the people. This word can also mean (although it is not used as often this way) summon; and Moses will summon the people in the time appointed. It is this verse where the NRSV and the NIV translate môw‛êd first as appointed feast and then as appointed time.

Leviticus 23:4 [What follows are] the set-feasts of Y^ehowah, holy convocations that you (all) will proclaim in their season. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Leviticus 23:4 What follows is a list of all the feasts of Jehovah, which are holy gatherings that you (all) will proclaim in their proper season. (Kukis paraphrase)

——————————

Here is how others have translated this passage:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        In the month the first four [and] ten to the month in a midst of the evenings a Passover to Y^ehowah. And in five [and] ten a day to the month, the this [is] a feast of the unleavened breads to Y^ehowah. Seven days unleavened breads you (all) will eat.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Jerusalem targum                  .

Targum (Onkelos)                  .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   .

Aramaic Targum                    .

The Psalms Targum              .

Updated Douay-Rheims         .

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) The first month, the fourteenth day of the month at evening, is the phase of the Lord.

And the fifteenth day of the same month is the solemnity of the unleavened bread of the Lord. Seven days shall you eat unleavened bread.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening, is Mar-Yah's Passover.

On the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to Mar-Yah. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

Original Aramaic Psalms        .

V. Alexander’s Aramaic T.     .

Plain English Aramaic Bible   .

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     .

Samaritan Pentateuch           .

Updated Brenton (Greek)       In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between the evening times is the Lord's Passover.

And on the fifteenth day of this month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days shall you eat unleavened bread.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at nightfall, is the Lord's Passover; 

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread; for seven days let your food be unleavened bread.

Easy English                          .

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The LORD'S Passover is on the 14th day of the first month just before dark.

"The LORD'S Festival of Unleavened Bread is on the 15th day of the same month. You will eat unleavened bread for seven days.

God’s Word™                         "The fourteenth day of the first month, in the evening, is the LORD'S Passover.

The fifteenth day of this same month is the LORD'S Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

Good News Bible (TEV)         The Passover, celebrated to honor the LORD, begins at sunset on the fourteenth day of the first month.

On the fifteenth day the Festival of Unleavened Bread begins, and for seven days you must not eat any bread made with yeast.

The Message                         .

Names of God Bible               .

NIRV                                      .

New Simplified Bible              .

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             .

Contemporary English V.       Passover is another time when you must come together to worship me, and it must be celebrated on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month of each year. The Festival of Thin Bread begins on the fifteenth day of that same month; it lasts seven days, and during this time you must honor me by eating bread made without yeast. V. 4 is included for context.

The Living Bible                     .

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    .

New Living Translation           .

The Passion Translation        .

Unfolding Bible Simplified      The first festival is the Passover. That festival will begin at twilight on the appointed day each spring and end the following day.  

The next day will begin the Festival of Bread with no Yeast. That festival will continue for seven days. During that time, the bread that you eat must be made without yeast.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          .

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       .

Translation for Translators     .

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Berean Study Bible                .

Christian Standard Bible        .

Conservapedia Translation    .

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  .

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           .

The Heritage Bible                 In the fourteenth day of the first new moon at dusk is Jehovah’s Passover.

And on the fifteenth day of the same new moon is the feast of unleavened food to Jehovah; you must eat unleavened food seven days.

International Standard V        “‘The Lord’s Passover is to begin on the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight. [Lit. between evenings]

“‘On the fifteenth day of that month is the Festival of Unleavened Bread to the Lord. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread.

H. C. Leupold                         .

Lexham English Bible            .

NIV, ©2011                             .

Unfolding Bible Literal Text    .

Urim-Thummim Version         The 14th day of the 1st month at sunset is YHWH's PASSOVER.

The 15th day of the same month is the FESTIVAL OF UNLEAVENED BREAD to YHWH, 7 days you must eat unleavened bread.

Wikipedia Bible Project          On the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, at sunset, it is Pesach (Passover) for Yahweh.

And on the fifteenth day of this month, the festival of crackers for Yahweh. Seven days, you will eat crackers.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  .

New American Bible (2011)   .

The Catholic Bible                  .

New Jerusalem Bible             .

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) .

Revised English Bible–1989   .

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           .

exeGeses companion Bible   .

Hebraic Roots Bible               . Seasons

Kaplan Translation                 .

The Scriptures–2009              ‘In the first new moon, on the fourteenth day of the new moon, between the evenings, is the Pěsaa to יהוה.

‘And on the fifteenth day of this new moon is the Festival of Matzotb to יהוה – seven days you eat unleavened bread.

^aPassover. 

^bUnleavened Bread.