23:3 “‘Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, 1 a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.
23:21 “‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. 3 You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations. 4
1 tn This is a superlative expression, emphasizing the full and all inclusive rest of the Sabbath and certain festival times throughout the chapter (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 155). Cf. ASV “a sabbath of solemn rest.”
2 tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”
3 tn Heb “And you shall proclaim [an assembly] in the bone of this day; a holy assembly it shall be to you” (see the remarks in B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 160, and the remarks on the LXX rendering in J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 367).
4 tn Heb “for your generations.”
5 tn Heb “in the bone of this day.”
6 tn Heb “on you [plural]”; cf. NASB, NRSV “on your behalf.”
7 tn The Hebrew term עֲצֶרֶת (’atseret) “solemn assembly [day]” derives from a root associated with restraint or closure. It could refer either to the last day as “closing assembly” day of the festival (e.g., NIV) or a special day of restraint expressed in a “solemn assembly” (e.g., NRSV); cf. NLT “a solemn closing assembly.”