But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
Instead, you must sacrifice the Passover lamb only at the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name. Do this in the evening when the sun goes down, at the same time of year when you came out of Egypt.
God is telling His people they can only celebrate Passover at the specific place He designates, and it must be done at sunset during the same season they left Egypt.
📚 Historical Context
Moses was giving these instructions to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land, establishing that Passover sacrifices could only be made at the central sanctuary (later Jerusalem) rather than wherever they happened to be. This was part of centralizing worship to prevent the people from mixing pagan practices with their worship of God. The timing references the original Passover night in Egypt when God passed over the Hebrew homes marked with lamb's blood.
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