Isaiah 56:2-6

56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, ¹ 

the people who commit themselves to obedience, ² 

who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. ³ 

56:3 No foreigner who becomes a follower of ⁴  the Lord should say,

‘The Lord will certainly ⁵  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 ⁶  my covenant,

56:5 I will set up within my temple and my walls a monument ⁷ 

that will be better than sons and daughters.

I will set up a permanent monument ⁸  for them that will remain.

56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of ⁹  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 ¹⁰  my covenant –

Exodus 20:8-11

20:8 “Remember ¹¹  the Sabbath ¹²  day to set it apart as holy. ¹³  20:9 For six days ¹⁴  you may labor ¹⁵  and do all your work, ¹⁶  20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it ¹⁷  you shall not do any work, you, ¹⁸  or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. ¹⁹  20:11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

Exodus 31:13-17

31:13 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, ²⁰  for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ²¹  31:14 So you must keep the Sabbath, for it is holy for you. Everyone who defiles it ²²  must surely be put to death; indeed, ²³  if anyone does ²⁴  any ²⁵  work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his ²⁶  people. 31:15 Six days ²⁷  work may be done, ²⁸  but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, ²⁹  holy to the Lord; anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death. 31:16 The Israelites must keep the Sabbath by observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 31:17 It is a sign between me and the Israelites forever; for in six days ³⁰  the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’” ³¹ 

Exodus 36:2-3

36:2 Moses summoned ³²  Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom ³³  the Lord had put skill – everyone whose heart stirred him ³⁴  to volunteer ³⁵  to do the work, 36:3 and they received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to do ³⁶  the work for the service of the sanctuary, and they still continued to bring him a freewill offering each morning. ³⁷ 

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

5:12 Be careful to observe ³⁸  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 ³⁹  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, ⁴⁰  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. ⁴¹  That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe ⁴²  the Sabbath day.

Nehemiah 13:15-22

13:15 In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps of grain and loading them onto donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day that they sold these provisions. 13:16 The people from Tyre ⁴³  who lived there were bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah – and in Jerusalem, of all places! ⁴⁴  13:17 So I registered a complaint with the nobles of Judah, saying to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 13:18 Isn’t this the way your ancestors ⁴⁵  acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!”

13:19 When the evening shadows ⁴⁶  began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered ⁴⁷  the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned ⁴⁸  some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day. 13:20 The traders and sellers of all kinds of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem once or twice. 13:21 But I warned them and said, ⁴⁹  “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!” ⁵⁰  From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath. ⁵¹  13:22 Then I directed the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.

For this please remember me, O my God, and have pity on me in keeping with your great love.

Jeremiah 17:21-27

17:21 The Lord says, ‘Be very careful if you value your lives! ⁵²  Do not carry any loads ⁵³  in through ⁵⁴  the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 17:22 Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day. ⁵⁵  But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, ⁵⁶  as I commanded your ancestors. ⁵⁷  17:23 Your ancestors, ⁵⁸  however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused ⁵⁹  to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’ 17:24 The Lord says, ⁶⁰  ‘You must make sure to obey me. You must not bring any loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. You must set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not do any work on that day. 17:25 If you do this, ⁶¹  then the kings and princes who follow in David’s succession ⁶²  and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to enter through these gates, as well as their officials and the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. ⁶³  This city will always be filled with people. ⁶⁴  17:26 Then people will come here from the towns in Judah, from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the western foothills, from the southern hill country, and from the southern part of Judah. They will come bringing offerings to the temple of the Lord: burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense along with their thank offerings. ⁶⁵  17:27 But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through ⁶⁶  the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.’”

[56:2]  ¹ tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”

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

[56:2]  ³ tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

[56:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “who attaches himself to.”

[56:3]  ⁵ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis.

[56:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “and take hold of” (so KJV); NASB “hold fast.”

[56:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “a hand and a name.” For other examples where יָד (yad) refers to a monument, see HALOT 388 s.v.

[56:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “name” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

[56:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”

[56:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”

[20:8]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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).

[20:9]  ¹⁴ tn The text has simply “six days,” but this is an adverbial accusative of time, answering how long they were to work (GKC 374 §118.k).

[20:9]  ¹⁵ tn The imperfect tense has traditionally been rendered as a commandment, “you will labor.” But the point of this commandment is the prohibition of work on the seventh day. The permission nuance of the imperfect works well here.

[20:9]  ¹⁶ tn This is the occupation, or business of the work week.

[20:10]  ¹⁷ tn The phrase “on it” has been supplied for clarity.

[20:10]  ¹⁸ sn The wife is omitted in the list, not that she was considered unimportant, nor that she was excluded from the rest, but rather in reflecting her high status. She was not man’s servant, not lesser than the man, but included with the man as an equal before God. The “you” of the commandments is addressed to the Israelites individually, male and female, just as God in the Garden of Eden held both the man and the woman responsible for their individual sins (see B. Jacob, Exodus, 567-68).

[20:10]  ¹⁹ sn The Sabbath day was the sign of the Sinaitic Covenant. It required Israel to cease from ordinary labors and devote the day to God. It required Israel to enter into the life of God, to share his Sabbath. It gave them a chance to recall the work of the Creator. But in the NT the apostolic teaching for the Church does not make one day holier than another, but calls for the entire life to be sanctified to God. This teaching is an application of the meaning of entering into the Sabbath of God. The book of Hebrews declares that those who believe in Christ cease from their works and enter into his Sabbath rest. For a Christian keeping Saturday holy is not a requirement from the NT; it may be a good and valuable thing to have a day of rest and refreshment, but it is not a binding law for the Church. The principle of setting aside time to worship and serve the Lord has been carried forward, but the strict regulations have not.

[31:13]  ²⁰ sn The instruction for the Sabbath at this point seems rather abrupt, but it follows logically the extended plans of building the sanctuary. B. Jacob, following some of the earlier treatments, suggests that these are specific rules given for the duration of the building of the sanctuary (Exodus, 844). The Sabbath day is a day of complete cessation; no labor or work could be done. The point here is that God’s covenant people must faithfully keep the sign of the covenant as a living commemoration of the finished work of Yahweh, and as an active part in their sanctification. See also 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; M. Tsevat, “The Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath, ZAW 84 (1972): 447-59; M. T. Willshaw, “A Joyous Sign,” ExpTim 89 (1978): 179-80.

[31:13]  ²¹ tn Or “your sanctifier.”

[31:14]  ²² tn This clause is all from one word, a Piel plural participle with a third, feminine suffix: מְחַלְלֶיהָ (mÿkhalleha, “defilers of it”). This form serves as the subject of the sentence. The word חָלַל (khalal) is the antonym of קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be holy”). It means “common, profane,” and in the Piel stem “make common, profane” or “defile.” Treating the Sabbath like an ordinary day would profane it, make it common.

[31:14]  ²³ tn This is the asseverative use of כִּי (ki) meaning “surely, indeed,” for it restates the point just made (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449).

[31:14]  ²⁴ tn Heb “the one who does.”

[31:14]  ²⁵ tn “any” has been supplied.

[31:14]  ²⁶ tn Literally “her” (a feminine pronoun agreeing with “soul/life,” which is grammatically feminine).

[31:15]  ²⁷ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time, indicating that work may be done for six days out of the week.

[31:15]  ²⁸ tn The form is a Niphal imperfect; it has the nuance of permission in this sentence, for the sentence is simply saying that the six days are work days – that is when work may be done.

[31:15]  ²⁹ tn The expression is שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbat shabbaton), “a Sabbath of entire rest,” or better, “a sabbath of complete desisting” (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 404). The second noun, the modifying genitive, is an abstract noun. The repetition provides the superlative idea that complete rest is the order of the day.

[31:17]  ³⁰ tn The expression again forms an adverbial accusative of time.

[31:17]  ³¹ sn The word “rest” essentially means “to cease, stop.” So describing God as “resting” on the seventh day does not indicate that he was tired – he simply finished creation and then ceased or stopped. But in this verse is a very bold anthropomorphism in the form of the verb וַיִּנָּפַשׁ (vayyinnafash), a Niphal preterite from the root נָפַשׁ (nafash), the word that is related to “life, soul” or more specifically “breath, throat.” The verb is usually translated here as “he was refreshed,” offering a very human picture. It could also be rendered “he took breath” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 345). Elsewhere the verb is used of people and animals. The anthropomorphism is clearly intended to teach people to stop and refresh themselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally on this day of rest.

[36:2]  ³² tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) plus the preposition “to” – “to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.

[36:2]  ³³ tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”

[36:2]  ³⁴ tn Or “whose heart was willing.”

[36:2]  ³⁵ sn The verb means more than “approach” or “draw near”; קָרַב (qarav) is the word used for drawing near the altar as in bringing an offering. Here they offer themselves, their talents and their time.

[36:3]  ³⁶ tn In the Hebrew text the infinitive “to do it” comes after “sanctuary”; it makes a smoother rendering in English to move it forward, rather than reading “brought for the work.”

[36:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “in the morning, in the morning.”

[5:12]  ³⁸ tn Heb “to make holy,” that is, to put to special use, in this case, to sacred purposes (cf. vv. 13-15).

[5:14]  ³⁹ 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]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “in your gates”; NRSV, CEV “in your towns”; TEV “in your country.”

[5:15]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² tn Or “keep” (so KJV, NRSV).

[13:16]  ⁴³ map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.

[13:16]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “of all places” are not in the Hebrew text but have been supplied in the translation to indicate the emphasis on Jerusalem.

[13:18]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “your fathers.”

[13:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “the gates of Jerusalem grew dark.”

[13:19]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “said” (so also in v. 22).

[13:19]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “caused to stand.”

[13:21]  ⁴⁹ tn The Hebrew text includes the words “to them,” but they have been excluded from the translation for stylistic reasons.

[13:21]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “I will send a hand on you.”

[13:21]  ⁵¹ sn This statement contains a great deal of restrained humor. The author clearly takes pleasure in the effectiveness of the measures that he had enacted.

[17:21]  ⁵² tn Heb “Be careful at the risk of your lives.” The expression with the preposition בְּ (bet) is unique. Elsewhere the verb “be careful” is used with the preposition לְ (lamed) in the sense of the reflexive. Hence the word “soul” cannot be simply reflexive here. BDB 1037 s.v. שָׁמַר Niph.1 understands this as a case where the preposition בְּ introduces the cost or price (cf. BDB 90 s.v. בּ III.3.a).

[17:21]  ⁵³ sn Comparison with Neh 13:15-18 suggests that these loads were merchandise or agricultural produce which were being brought in for sale. The loads that were carried out of the houses in the next verse were probably goods for barter.

[17:21]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “carry loads on the Sabbath and bring [them] in through.” The two verbs “carry” and “bring in” are an example of hendiadys (see the note on “Be careful…by carrying”). This is supported by the next line where only “carry out” of the houses is mentioned.

[17:22]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “Do not carry any loads out of your houses on the Sabbath day and do not do any work.” Translating literally might give the wrong impression that they were not to work at all. The phrase “on the Sabbath day” is, of course, intended to qualify both prohibitions.

[17:22]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “But sanctify [or set apart as sacred] the Sabbath day.” The idea of setting it apart as something sacred to the Lord is implicit in the command. See the explicit statements of this in Exod 20:10; 31:5; 35:2; Lev 24:8. For some readers the idea of treating the Sabbath day as something sacred won’t mean much without spelling the qualification out specifically. Sabbath observance was not just a matter of not working.

[17:22]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “fathers.”

[17:23]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “They.” The antecedent is spelled out to avoid any possible confusion.

[17:23]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “They hardened [or made stiff] their neck so as not to.”

[17:24]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[17:25]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “If you will carefully obey me by not bringing…and by sanctifying…by not doing…, then kings will….” The structure of prohibitions and commands followed by a brief “if” clause has been used to break up a long condition and consequence relationship which is contrary to contemporary English style.

[17:25]  ⁶² tn Heb “who sit [or are to sit] on David’s throne.”

[17:25]  ⁶³ tn Heb “There will come through the gates of this city the kings and princes…riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials…” The structure of the original text is broken up here because of the long compound subject which would make the English sentence too long. The term “princes” is often omitted as a supposed double writing of the word that follows it and looks somewhat like it (the Hebrew reads here וְשָׂרִים יֹשְׁבִים, vÿsarim yoshÿvim) or the same word which occurs later in the verse and is translated “officials” (the word can refer to either). It is argued that “princes” are never said to sit on the throne of David (translated here “follow in the succession of David”). However, the word is in all texts and versions and the concept of sitting on the throne of someone is descriptive of both past, present, and future and is even used with the participle in a proleptic sense of “the one who is to sit on the throne” (cf. Exod 11:5; 12:29).

[17:25]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “will be inhabited forever.”

[17:26]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “There will come from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem and from…those bringing…incense and those bringing thank offerings.” This sentence has been restructured from a long complex original to conform to contemporary English style.

[17:27]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “carry loads on the Sabbath and bring [them] in through.” The translation treats the two verbs “carry” and “bring in” are an example of hendiadys (see the note on “through” in 17:21).