Exodus 23:10–19, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Exodus 23:10–19
Sabbath Years and Festivals Order Work and Worship
The land rests so the poor and the beasts can eat
Six years they sow and gather. The seventh year the land lies still, that the poor of the people may eat, and the beasts of the field eat what they leave—vineyard and oliveyard too. Six days they work; the seventh they rest, that ox and ass may rest and the son of the handmaid and the stranger may be refreshed.
Three feasts, firstfruits, and a disputed kid
They are to be circumspect and not mention other gods. Three times a year they keep a feast: unleavened bread in Abib, because they came out of Egypt, and none appears empty; the feast of harvest of firstfruits; the feast of ingathering at year's end. All males appear three times before the Lord GOD. Blood is not offered with leaven; fat does not remain until morning. The first of the firstfruits comes to the house of the LORD. They shall not seethe a kid in its mother's milk—a command whose ancient sense is disputed (dietary, ritual, or polemic against a practice now uncertain).
Calendar, soil, workers, animals, and exclusive loyalty are one structure. Rest is for the dependent laborer and the beast, not only for the landowner. Empty-handed appearance is forbidden; the poor still eat from the seventh-year field.
How this should shape us
Design rest and festivals that actually reach hired workers, resident outsiders, and animals, not only owners who can take a weekend. Bring the first share, appear without pretending poverty you do not have, and do not turn a difficult cooking command into a culture war the verse will not support.
Teach it back
Explain Exodus 23:10–19 in your own words. Include both movements, its place in Exodus, one historical or compositional uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one conclusion the complete context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Careful interpreters agree that the received text states the following: Land rest, weekly rest for workers and animals, rejection of other divine names, three pilgrimage festivals, firstfruits, and a disputed kid-in-milk command structure Israel's calendar. They disagree over source layers, date, historical recovery, archaeology, Hebrew details, ritual development, legal use, and canonical relationship in different proportions; this study treats the final form directly while marking those alternatives as probable or uncertain rather than settled fact.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exodus 23:10–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 23:10–19
Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.
NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 23:10–19
Supports: Mountain location uncertainty, covenant and treaty comparison, source plurality, mediation, Decalogue, covenant blood, and priestly dwelling instruction.
Yale Bible Study, 'Sinai,' complete study guide pp. 1–6, covenant, Moses and the mountain, Decalogue, Exodus 24, and tabernacle framing; applied to Exodus 23:10–19
Supports: Case-law form, ancient Near Eastern comparanda, social setting, slavery and gender inequality, legal restraint, and limits of direct modern transfer.
Yale Bible Study, 'The Book of the Covenant,' complete study guide pp. 1–5, ancient Near Eastern law, slavery, lex talionis, property, justice, worship, and legal dating limits; applied to Exodus 23:10–19
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Exodus 23:10–19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 23:10–19
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Exodus with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
eBible.org distribution of the NET Bible, PDF generated 2026-08-12
Supports: Unit-bounded Hebrew, syntax, lexical, textual, name, measure, legal, ritual, and older-English notes; silence is not evidence.
Exact location: NET Bible Exodus PDF, complete 127-page PDF, translation and verse-attached translator notes for 23:10–19
Open source ↗open university course study guide
Sinai Study Guide
Joel S. Baden and John J. Collins
Yale Bible Study, 2019 course edition
Supports: Mountain location uncertainty, covenant and treaty comparison, source plurality, mediation, Decalogue, covenant blood, and priestly dwelling instruction.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'Sinai,' complete study guide pp. 1–6, covenant, Moses and the mountain, Decalogue, Exodus 24, and tabernacle framing; applied to Exodus 23:10–19
Open source ↗open university course study guide
The Book of the Covenant Study Guide
Joel S. Baden and John J. Collins
Yale Bible Study, 2019 course edition
Supports: Case-law form, ancient Near Eastern comparanda, social setting, slavery and gender inequality, legal restraint, and limits of direct modern transfer.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, 'The Book of the Covenant,' complete study guide pp. 1–5, ancient Near Eastern law, slavery, lex talionis, property, justice, worship, and legal dating limits; applied to Exodus 23:10–19
Open source ↗