Exodus 12:16

12:16 On the first day there will be a holy convocation, ¹  and on the seventh day there will be a holy convocation for you. You must do no work of any kind ²  on them, only what every person will eat – that alone may be prepared for you.

Leviticus 16:29

Review of the Day of Atonement

16:29 “This is to be a perpetual statute for you. ³  In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you must humble yourselves ⁴  and do no work of any kind, ⁵  both the native citizen and the foreigner who resides ⁶  in your midst,

Leviticus 23:21

23:21 “‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. ⁷  You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations. ⁸ 

Leviticus 23:35-36

23:35 On the first day is a holy assembly; you must do no regular work. ⁹  23:36 For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day; ¹⁰  you must not do any regular work.

Colossians 2:16

2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days –

[12:16]  ¹ sn This refers to an assembly of the people at the sanctuary for religious purposes. The word “convocation” implies that the people were called together, and Num 10:2 indicates they were called together by trumpets.

[12:16]  ² tn Heb “all/every work will not be done.” The word refers primarily to the work of one’s occupation. B. Jacob (Exodus, 322) explains that since this comes prior to the fuller description of laws for Sabbaths and festivals, the passage simply restricts all work except for the preparation of food. Once the laws are added, this qualification is no longer needed. Gesenius translates this as “no manner of work shall be done” (GKC 478-79 §152.b).

[16:29]  ³ tn Heb “And it [feminine] shall be for you a perpetual statute.” Verse 34 begins with the same clause except for the missing demonstrative pronoun “this” here in v. 29. The LXX has “this” in both places and it suits the sense of the passage, although both the verb and the pronoun are sometimes missing in this clause elsewhere in the book (see, e.g., Lev 3:17).

[16:29]  ⁴ tn Heb “you shall humble your souls.” The verb “to humble” here refers to various forms of self-denial, including but not limited to fasting (cf. Ps 35:13 and Isa 58:3, 10). The Mishnah (m. Yoma 8:1) lists abstentions from food and drink, bathing, using oil as an unguent to moisten the skin, wearing leather sandals, and sexual intercourse (cf. 2 Sam 12:16-17, 20; see the remarks in J. Milgrom, Leviticus [AB], 1:1054; B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 109; and J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 242).

[16:29]  ⁵ tn Heb “and all work you shall not do.”

[16:29]  ⁶ tn Heb “the native and the sojourner who sojourns.”

[23:21]  ⁷ 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).

[23:21]  ⁸ tn Heb “for your generations.”

[23:35]  ⁹ tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”

[23:36]  ¹⁰ 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.”