Isaiah 58:13

58:13 You must ¹  observe the Sabbath ² 

rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. ³ 

You must look forward to the Sabbath ⁴ 

and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. ⁵ 

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

and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. ⁶ 

Exodus 31:13-16

31:13 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, ⁷  for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ⁸  31:14 So you must keep the Sabbath, for it is holy for you. Everyone who defiles it ⁹  must surely be put to death; indeed, ¹⁰  if anyone does ¹¹  any ¹²  work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his ¹³  people. 31:15 Six days ¹⁴  work may be done, ¹⁵  but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, ¹⁶  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.

Leviticus 19:30

Purity, Honor, Respect, and Honesty

19:30 “‘You must keep my Sabbaths and fear my sanctuary. I am the Lord.

Nehemiah 13:17

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?

Jeremiah 17:21-22

17:21 The Lord says, ‘Be very careful if you value your lives! ¹⁷  Do not carry any loads ¹⁸  in through ¹⁹  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. ²⁰  But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, ²¹  as I commanded your ancestors. ²² 

Ezekiel 20:12

20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths ²³  as a reminder of our relationship, ²⁴  so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them. ²⁵ 

Ezekiel 20:20

20:20 Treat my Sabbaths as holy ²⁶  and they will be a reminder of our relationship, ²⁷  and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”

[58:13]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”

[58:13]  ³ tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”

[58:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”

[58:13]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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).

[31:13]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Or “your sanctifier.”

[31:14]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the one who does.”

[31:14]  ¹² tn “any” has been supplied.

[31:14]  ¹³ tn Literally “her” (a feminine pronoun agreeing with “soul/life,” which is grammatically feminine).

[31:15]  ¹⁴ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time, indicating that work may be done for six days out of the week.

[31:15]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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.

[17:21]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Heb “fathers.”

[20:12]  ²³ sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).

[20:12]  ²⁴ tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”

[20:12]  ²⁵ tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.

[20:20]  ²⁶ tn Or “set apart my Sabbaths.”

[20:20]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and they will become a sign between me and you.”