And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.

DEUTERONOMY 16:14KJV
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Deuteronomy 16:14 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 16:14 mean?

Deuteronomy 16:14 commands the people of Israel to celebrate their festival with joy, including not only their own families but also servants, Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows living among them. The verse emphasizes that everyone within the community’s gates should be included in the rejoicing during the feast.

Moses is speaking to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, giving instructions about how to observe the major festivals. This verse specifically highlights that the joy of the feast is not just for the head of the household or immediate family, but for all people present in the community, especially those who might otherwise be left out.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 16:14

  • שָׂמַח (śāmaḥ, H8055) — "rejoice": This word means to be glad or joyful. The command to rejoice is active, not just a feeling, encouraging intentional celebration and inclusion.
  • חָג (ḥag, H2282) — "feast": This word refers to a festival or pilgrimage feast, a special time set aside for communal worship and celebration.
  • גֵּר (gēr, H1616) — "stranger": This refers to a foreigner or sojourner living among the Israelites. Including the "stranger" shows that the festival was meant to be welcoming, not exclusive.
  • יָתוֹם (yāṯôm, H3490) — "fatherless": This word means orphan. The mention of orphans and widows highlights care for the vulnerable.
  • שַׁעַר (shaʿar, H8179) — "gates": This refers to the city or town gates, meaning everyone living within the community, not just the household.

Why Deuteronomy 16:14 matters

  • Deuteronomy 16:14 makes clear that the joy of Israel’s festivals was meant to be shared by all, not just the privileged or insiders, correcting any idea that worship was private or exclusive.
  • The verse highlights God’s concern for the vulnerable—servants, foreigners, orphans, and widows—by specifically naming them as part of the celebration.
  • This instruction fits into a larger pattern in Deuteronomy, where Moses repeatedly calls the people to remember justice, generosity, and hospitality as central to their life together.

Where else these words appear

“fatherless” Hebrew H3490 · used in 42 verses

  • Exodus 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
  • Job 22:9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
  • Proverbs 23:10 Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

“maidservant” Hebrew H519 · used in 49 verses

  • Genesis 20:17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children.
  • Leviticus 25:44 Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.
  • 1 Samuel 25:41 And she arose, and bowed herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.

“widow” Hebrew H490 · used in 54 verses

  • Genesis 38:11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
  • 1 Kings 7:14 He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.
  • Isaiah 1:23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.

“feast” Hebrew H2282 · used in 55 verses

  • Exodus 10:9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.
  • Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
  • Psalms 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.