Exodus 20:8

20:8 “Remember ¹  the Sabbath ²  day to set it apart as holy. ³ 

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

5:12 Be careful to observe ⁴  the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. 5:13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, 5:14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath ⁵  of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the foreigner who lives with you, ⁶  so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. 5:15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. ⁷  That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe ⁸  the Sabbath day.

Nehemiah 9:14

9:14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath; you issued commandments, statutes, and law to them through ⁹  Moses your servant.

Isaiah 56:2-6

56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, ¹⁰ 

the people who commit themselves to obedience, ¹¹ 

who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. ¹² 

56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of ¹³  the Lord should say,

‘The Lord will certainly ¹⁴  exclude me from his people.’

The eunuch should not say,

‘Look, I am like a dried-up tree.’”

56:4 For this is what the Lord says:

“For the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths

and choose what pleases me

and are faithful to ¹⁵  my covenant,

56:5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument ¹⁶ 

that will be better than sons and daughters.

I will set up a permanent monument ¹⁷  for them that will remain.

56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of ¹⁸  the Lord and serve him,

who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants –

all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

and who are faithful to ¹⁹  my covenant –

Isaiah 58:13-14

58:13 You must ²⁰  observe the Sabbath ²¹ 

rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. ²² 

You must look forward to the Sabbath ²³ 

and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. ²⁴ 

You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,

and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. ²⁵ 

58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ²⁶ 

and I will give you great prosperity, ²⁷ 

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ²⁸ 

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ²⁹ 

Ezekiel 20:12

20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths ³⁰  as a reminder of our relationship, ³¹  so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them. ³² 

Ezekiel 44:24

44:24 “‘In a controversy they will act as judges; ³³  they will judge according to my ordinances. They will keep my laws and my statutes regarding all my appointed festivals and will observe ³⁴  my Sabbaths.

[20:8]  ¹ tn The text uses the infinitive absolute זָכוֹר (zakhor) for the commandment for the Sabbath day, which is the sign of the Sinaitic Covenant. The infinitive absolute functions in place of the emphatic imperative here (see GKC 346 §113.bb); the absolute stresses the basic verbal idea of the root – remembering. The verb includes the mental activity of recalling and pondering as well as the consequent actions for such remembering.

[20:8]  ² tn The word “Sabbath” is clearly connected to the verb שָׁבַת (shavat, “to cease, desist, rest”). There are all kinds of theories as to the origin of the day, most notably in the Babylonian world, but the differences are striking in so far as the pagan world had these days filled with magic. Nevertheless, the pagan world does bear witness to a tradition of a regular day set aside for special sacrifices. See, for example, H. W. Wolff, “The Day of Rest in the Old Testament,” LTQ 7 (1972): 65-76; H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the OT and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-42; and M. Tsevat, “The Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath,” ZAW 84 (1972): 447-59.

[20:8]  ³ tn The Piel infinitive construct provides the purpose of remembering the Sabbath day – to set it apart, to make it distinct from the other days. Verses 9 and 10 explain in part how this was to be done. To set this day apart as holy taught Israel the difference between the holy and the profane, that there was something higher than daily life. If an Israelite bent down to the ground laboring all week, the Sabbath called his attention to the heavens, to pattern life after the Creator (B. Jacob, Exodus, 569-70).

[5:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “to make holy,” that is, to put to special use, in this case, to sacred purposes (cf. vv. 13-15).

[5:14]  ⁵ tn There is some degree of paronomasia (wordplay) here: “the seventh (הַשְּׁבִיעִי, hashÿvi’i) day is the Sabbath (שַׁבָּת, shabbat).” Otherwise, the words have nothing in common, since “Sabbath” is derived from the verb שָׁבַת (shavat, “to cease”).

[5:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “in your gates”; NRSV, CEV “in your towns”; TEV “in your country.”

[5:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “by a strong hand and an outstretched arm,” the hand and arm symbolizing divine activity and strength. Cf. NLT “with amazing power and mighty deeds.”

[5:15]  ⁸ tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NRSV).

[9:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “by the hand of.”

[56:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”

[56:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”

[56:2]  ¹² tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

[56:3]  ¹³ tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”

[56:3]  ¹⁴ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[56:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”

[56:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.

[56:5]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[56:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”

[56:6]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”

[58:13]  ²⁰ tn Lit., “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 13-14 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in v. 13), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 14.

[58:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”

[58:13]  ²² tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”

[58:13]  ²³ tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”

[58:13]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and [call] the holy [day] of the Lord honored.” On קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy”) as indicating a time period, see BDB 872 s.v. 2.e (cf. also Neh 8:9-11).

[58:13]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and you honor it [by refraining] from accomplishing your ways, from finding your desire and speaking a word.” It is unlikely that the last phrase (“speaking a word”) is a prohibition against talking on the Sabbath; instead it probably refers to making transactions or plans (see Hos 10:4). Some see here a reference to idle talk (cf. 2 Sam 19:30).

[58:14]  ²⁶ tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.

[58:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.

[58:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).

[58:14]  ²⁹ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[20:12]  ³⁰ sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).

[20:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”

[20:12]  ³² tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.

[44:24]  ³³ sn For a historical illustration of the priest carrying out this function, see 2 Chr 19:9-11.

[44:24]  ³⁴ tn Heb “sanctify, set apart.”