Verses 16-17 are a summary statement about these three major festivals (see Exo 23.17; 34.23), making it clear that all Jewish males (twenty years and older) had to be present at the central sanctuary.

Appear before the LORD your God: be present at the place of worship.

At the place which he will choose: the central sanctuary. For this first sentence Good News Translation has “All the men of your nation are to come to worship the LORD three times a year at the one place of worship.” As indicated at the beginning of this chapter, “your” may be also rendered as “our [inclusive].” However, another possibility is “all Israelite men.” So Contemporary English Version has “Each year there are three festivals when all Israelite men must go to the place where the LORD chooses to be worshiped.”

They shall not appear … empty-handed: see 15.13. This can be stated in a positive form: “Everyone shall take something to offer to the LORD.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .