Exodus 12:20
New International Version
Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”

New Living Translation
During those days you must not eat anything made with yeast. Wherever you live, eat only bread made without yeast.”

English Standard Version
You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.”

Berean Standard Bible
You are not to eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”

King James Bible
Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

New King James Version
You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’ ”

New American Standard Bible
You shall not eat anything with yeast; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

NASB 1995
‘You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

NASB 1977
‘You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

Legacy Standard Bible
You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your places of habitation you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

Amplified Bible
You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread.’”

Christian Standard Bible
Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.”

American Standard Version
Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

Contemporary English Version
Stay away from yeast, no matter where you live. No one is allowed to eat anything made with yeast!

English Revised Version
Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat [only] unleavened bread."

International Standard Version
You are not to eat what is leavened. You are to eat unleavened bread in all your settlements.'"

Majority Standard Bible
You are not to eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.?

NET Bible
You will not eat anything made with yeast; in all the places where you live you must eat bread made without yeast.'"

New Heart English Bible
You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.'"

Webster's Bible Translation
Ye shall eat nothing leavened: in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

World English Bible
You shall eat nothing leavened. In all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.’”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
you do not eat anything fermented—in all your dwellings you eat [only] unleavened things.”

Young's Literal Translation
anything fermented ye do not eat, in all your dwellings ye do eat unleavened things.'

Smith's Literal Translation
All leavened ye shall not eat: in all your dwellings ye shall eat unleavened.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
You shall not eat any thing leavened: in all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.

Catholic Public Domain Version
You shall not consume any leaven. In all your dwelling places, you shall eat unleavened bread.”

New American Bible
You shall eat nothing leavened; wherever you dwell you may eat only unleavened bread.

New Revised Standard Version
You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your settlements you shall eat unleavened bread.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations you shall eat unleavened bread.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
You shall eat no leaven; in every place of your dwelling you shall eat unleavened bread.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Ye shall eat nothing leavened, but in every habitation of your ye shall eat unleavened bread.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Feast of Unleavened Bread
19For seven days there must be no leaven found in your houses. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreigner or native of the land, must be cut off from the congregation of Israel. 20You are not to eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes.” 21Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and told them, “Go at once and select for yourselves a lamb for each family, and slaughter the Passover lamb.…

Cross References
Leviticus 23:6-8
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. / On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly; you are not to do any regular work. / For seven days you are to present a food offering to the LORD. On the seventh day there shall be a sacred assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”

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 may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. / No leaven is to be found in all your land for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day shall remain until morning.

Numbers 9:11-12
Such 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; / they may not leave any of it until morning or break any of its bones. They must observe the Passover according to all its statutes.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8
Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. / Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.

Matthew 26:17-19
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” / He answered, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him that the Teacher says, ‘My time is near. I will keep the Passover with My disciples at your house.’” / So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

Mark 14:12-16
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” / So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him, / and whichever house he enters, say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’ ...

Luke 22:7-13
Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed. / Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” / “Where do You want us to prepare it?” they asked. ...

John 19:31-36
It was the day of Preparation, and the next day was a High Sabbath. In order that the bodies would not remain on the cross during the Sabbath, the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies removed. / So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and those of the other. / But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ...

Hebrews 11:28
By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.

2 Chronicles 30:21
The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great joy, and the Levites and priests praised the LORD day after day, accompanied by loud instruments of praise to the LORD.

2 Chronicles 35:17
The Israelites who were present also observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.

Ezra 6:19-22
On the fourteenth day of the first month, the exiles kept the Passover. / All the priests and Levites had purified themselves and were ceremonially clean. And the Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their priestly brothers, and for themselves. / The Israelites who had returned from exile ate it, together with all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to seek the LORD, the God of Israel. ...

Ezekiel 45:21
On the fourteenth day of the first month you are to observe the Passover, a feast of seven days, during which unleavened bread shall be eaten.

Joshua 5:10-11
On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while the Israelites were camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover. / The day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land.

Psalm 81:3-5
Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and at the full moon on the day of our Feast. / For this is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. / He ordained it as a testimony for Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I heard an unfamiliar language:


Treasury of Scripture

You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall you eat unleavened bread.

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Exodus 12
1. The beginning of the year is changed
3. The Passover is instituted
11. The import of the rite of the Passover
15. Unleavened bread
29. The firstborn are slain
31. The Israelites are driven out of the land
37. They come to Succoth
41. The time of their sojourning
43. The ordinance of the Passover














You are not to eat anything leavened;
This command is part of the instructions for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which follows the Passover. Leaven, or yeast, is often symbolic of sin and corruption in the Bible (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). The removal of leaven from the home represents the purging of sin from one's life. Historically, leaven was a small piece of dough left over from the previous batch, which would ferment and cause the new dough to rise. This process can symbolize how sin, if left unchecked, can permeate and affect the whole community or individual. The prohibition against leaven during this time underscores the need for purity and holiness as the Israelites prepared to leave Egypt, a land of idolatry and sin.

eat unleavened bread
Unleavened bread, or matzah, is bread made without yeast, symbolizing purity and the haste with which the Israelites left Egypt (Exodus 12:39). It is a reminder of their affliction and the urgency of their departure. In the New Testament, unleavened bread is also seen as a type of Christ, who is sinless and pure (John 6:35). The consumption of unleavened bread during this feast is a call to remember God's deliverance and to live a life free from the corruption of sin.

in all your homes.”
The command to eat unleavened bread in all homes emphasizes the communal and familial aspect of the observance. It was not just a public or temple ritual but a practice to be observed within the household, signifying that the remembrance of God's deliverance and the call to holiness is personal and affects every aspect of life. This practice would have united the community in shared faith and obedience, reinforcing their identity as God's chosen people. The home-centered observance also foreshadows the New Testament teaching that faith and worship are not confined to a specific place but are to be lived out in daily life (Acts 2:46, Colossians 3:16).

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The leader chosen by God to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. He communicated God's instructions regarding the Passover to the Israelites.

2. Israelites
The descendants of Jacob, who were enslaved in Egypt and were instructed to observe the Passover as a sign of their deliverance.

3. Egypt
The land where the Israelites were enslaved and from which God was delivering them through the events of the Passover.

4. Passover
A significant event where God passed over the houses of the Israelites marked with lamb's blood, sparing them from the plague of the firstborn.

5. Unleavened Bread
Bread made without yeast, symbolizing purity and the haste in which the Israelites left Egypt.
Teaching Points
Symbolism of Leaven
Leaven often symbolizes sin and corruption in the Bible. The removal of leaven from the home during Passover represents the need for spiritual cleansing and purity.

Obedience to God's Commands
The Israelites' adherence to God's instructions regarding unleavened bread demonstrates the importance of obedience in the life of a believer.

Remembrance of Deliverance
The practice of eating unleavened bread serves as a reminder of God's deliverance and faithfulness, encouraging believers to remember and celebrate God's work in their lives.

Spiritual Readiness
Just as the Israelites had to be ready to leave Egypt at a moment's notice, Christians are called to live in a state of spiritual readiness, prepared for Christ's return.

Community and Family Worship
The command to eat unleavened bread in all homes highlights the importance of worship and obedience within the family and community setting.Verse 20. - Here again there is no repetition, but an extension. "Ye shall eat nothing leavened," not only no leavened bread (ver. 15), but no leavened cake of any kind. And "in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread," i.e., wherever ye dwell, whether in Egypt, or in the wilderness, or in Palestine, or in Babylonia, or in Media, this law shall be observed. So the Jews observe it everywhere to this day, though they no longer sacrifice the Paschal lamb.

CHAPTER 12:21-28

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
{You are} not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

to eat
תֹאכֵ֑לוּ (ṯō·ḵê·lū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 398: To eat

anything
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

leavened;
מַחְמֶ֖צֶת (maḥ·me·ṣeṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2557: That which is leavened

eat
תֹּאכְל֖וּ (tō·ḵə·lū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 398: To eat

unleavened bread
מַצּֽוֹת׃ (maṣ·ṣō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4682: Sweetness, sweet, an unfermented cake, loaf, the festival of Passover

in all
בְּכֹל֙ (bə·ḵōl)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

your homes.”
מוֹשְׁבֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם (mō·wō·šə·ḇō·ṯê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 4186: A seat, assembly, dwelling place, dwelling, dwellers


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OT Law: Exodus 12:20 You shall eat nothing leavened (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 12:19
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