Leviticus 19:3

19:3 Each of you must respect his mother and his father, ¹  and you must keep my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

Exodus 16:23

16:23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, ²  a holy Sabbath ³  to the Lord. Whatever you want to ⁴  bake, bake today; ⁵  whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”

Exodus 16:29

16:29 See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, that is why ⁶  he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day. Each of you stay where you are; ⁷  let no one ⁸  go out of his place on the seventh day.”

Exodus 20:8-11

20:8 “Remember ⁹  the Sabbath ¹⁰  day to set it apart as holy. ¹¹  20:9 For six days ¹²  you may labor ¹³  and do all your work, ¹⁴  20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it ¹⁵  you shall not do any work, you, ¹⁶  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. ¹⁷  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 23:12

23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and any hired help ¹⁸  may refresh themselves. ¹⁹ 

Exodus 31:15

31:15 Six days ²⁰  work may be done, ²¹  but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, ²²  holy to the Lord; anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death.

Exodus 34:21

34:21 “On six days ²³  you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest; ²⁴  even at the time of plowing and of harvest ²⁵  you are to rest. ²⁶ 

Exodus 35:2-3

35:2 In six days ²⁷  work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day ²⁸  for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. ²⁹  Anyone who does work on it will be put to death. 35:3 You must not kindle a fire ³⁰  in any of your homes ³¹  on the Sabbath day.” ³² 

Deuteronomy 5:13

5:13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days,

Isaiah 56:2

56:2 The people who do this will be blessed, ³³ 

the people who commit themselves to obedience, ³⁴ 

who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it,

who refrain from doing anything that is wrong. ³⁵ 

Isaiah 56:6

56:6 As for foreigners who become followers of ³⁶  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 ³⁷  my covenant –

Isaiah 58:13

58:13 You must ³⁸  observe the Sabbath ³⁹ 

rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. ⁴⁰ 

You must look forward to the Sabbath ⁴¹ 

and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. ⁴² 

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

and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. ⁴³ 

Luke 13:14

13:14 But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ⁴⁴  should be done! ⁴⁵  So come ⁴⁶  and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day.”

Luke 23:56

23:56 Then ⁴⁷  they returned and prepared aromatic spices ⁴⁸  and perfumes. ⁴⁹ 

On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. ⁵⁰ 

Acts 15:21

15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, ⁵¹  because he is read aloud ⁵²  in the synagogues ⁵³  every Sabbath.”

Revelation 1:10

1:10 I was in the Spirit ⁵⁴  on the Lord’s Day ⁵⁵  when ⁵⁶  I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

[19:3]  ¹ tn Heb “A man his mother and his father you [plural] shall fear.” The LXX, Syriac, Vulgate, and certain Targum mss reverse the order, “his father and his mother.” The term “fear” is subject to misunderstanding by the modern reader, so “respect” has been used in the translation. Cf. NAB, NRSV “revere”; NASB “reverence.”

[16:23]  ² tn The noun שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbaton) has the abstract ending on it: “resting, ceasing.” The root word means “cease” from something, more than “to rest.” The Law would make it clear that they were to cease from their normal occupations and do no common work.

[16:23]  ³ tn The technical expression is now used: שַׁבַּת־קֹדֶשׁ (shabbat-qodesh, “a holy Sabbath”) meaning a “cessation of/for holiness” for Yahweh. The rest was to be characterized by holiness.

[16:23]  ⁴ tn The two verbs in these objective noun clauses are desiderative imperfects – “bake whatever you want to bake.”

[16:23]  ⁵ tn The word “today” is implied from the context.

[16:29]  ⁶ sn Noting the rabbinic teaching that the giving of the Sabbath was a sign of God’s love – it was accomplished through the double portion on the sixth day – B. Jacob says, “God made no request unless He provided the means for its execution” (Exodus, 461).

[16:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “remain, a man where he is.”

[16:29]  ⁸ tn Or “Let not anyone go” (see GKC 445 §138.d).

[20:8]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn This is the occupation, or business of the work week.

[20:10]  ¹⁵ tn The phrase “on it” has been supplied for clarity.

[20:10]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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.

[23:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “alien,” or “resident foreigner.” Such an individual would have traveled out of need and depended on the goodwill of the people around him. The rendering “hired help” assumes that the foreigner is mentioned in this context because he is working for an Israelite and will benefit from the Sabbath rest, along with his employer.

[23:12]  ¹⁹ tn The verb is וְיִּנָּפֵשׁ (vÿyyinnafesh); it is related to the word usually translated “soul” or “life.”

[31:15]  ²⁰ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time, indicating that work may be done for six days out of the week.

[31:15]  ²¹ 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]  ²² 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.

[34:21]  ²³ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

[34:21]  ²⁴ tn Or “cease” (i.e., from the labors).

[34:21]  ²⁵ sn See M. Dahood, “Vocative lamed in Exodus 2,4 and Merismus in 34,21,” Bib 62 (1981): 413-15.

[34:21]  ²⁶ tn The imperfect tense expresses injunction or instruction.

[35:2]  ²⁷ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

[35:2]  ²⁸ tn The word is קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh, “holiness”). S. R. Driver suggests that the word was transposed, and the line should read: “a sabbath of entire rest, holy to Jehovah” (Exodus, 379). But the word may simply be taken as a substitution for “holy day.”

[35:2]  ²⁹ sn See on this H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of the Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the Old Testament and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-43.

[35:3]  ³⁰ sn Kindling a fire receives special attention here because the people thought that kindling a fire was not work, but only a preparation for some kind of work. The Law makes sure that this too was not done. But see also G. Robinson, “The Prohibition of Strange Fire in Ancient Israel: A Look at the Case of Gathering Wood and Kindling Fire on the Sabbath,” VT 28 (1978): 301-17.

[35:3]  ³¹ tn Heb “dwelling places”; KJV, ASV “habitations.”

[35:3]  ³² sn The presence of these three verses in this place has raised all kinds of questions. It may be that after the renewal of the covenant the people needed a reminder to obey God, and obeying the sign of the covenant was the starting point. But there is more to it than this; it is part of the narrative design of the book. It is the artistic design that puts the filling of the Spirit section (31:1-11) prior to the Sabbath laws (31:12-18) before the idolatry section, and then after the renewal there is the Sabbath reminder (35:1-3) before the filling of the Spirit material (35:4-36:7).

[56:2]  ³³ tn Heb “blessed is the man who does this.”

[56:2]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the son of mankind who takes hold of it.”

[56:2]  ³⁵ tn Heb and who keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

[56:6]  ³⁶ tn Heb “who attach themselves to.”

[56:6]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and take hold of”; NAB “hold to”; NIV, NRSV “hold fast.”

[58:13]  ³⁸ 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]  ³⁹ tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”

[58:13]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”

[58:13]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”

[58:13]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ 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).

[13:14]  ⁴⁴ sn The irony is that Jesus’ “work” consisted of merely touching the woman. There is no sense of joy that eighteen years of suffering was reversed with his touch.

[13:14]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “on which it is necessary to work.” This has been simplified in the translation.

[13:14]  ⁴⁶ tn The participle ἐρχόμενοι (ercomenoi) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

[23:56]  ⁴⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:56]  ⁴⁸ tn On this term see BDAG 140-41 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these preparations were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition. The women planned to return and anoint the body. But that would have to wait until after the Sabbath.

[23:56]  ⁴⁹ tn Or “ointments.” This was another type of perfumed oil.

[23:56]  ⁵⁰ sn According to the commandment. These women are portrayed as pious, faithful to the law in observing the Sabbath.

[15:21]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “from generations of old”; the translation “fr. ancient times” is given by BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 3.b.

[15:21]  ⁵² tn The translation “read aloud” is used to indicate the actual practice; translating as “read” could be misunderstood to mean private, silent reading.

[15:21]  ⁵³ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[1:10]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “in the spirit.” “Spirit” could refer either to the Holy Spirit or the human spirit, but in either case John was in “a state of spiritual exaltation best described as a trance” (R. H. Mounce, Revelation [NICNT], 75).

[1:10]  ⁵⁵ tn Concerning the phrase κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ (kuriakh Jhmera) BDAG 576 s.v. κυριακός states: “pert. to belonging to the Lord, the Lord’s…κ. ἡμέρᾳ the Lord’s day (Kephal. I 192, 1; 193, 31…) i.e. certainly Sunday (so in Mod. Gk….) Rv 1:10 (WStott, NTS 12, ’65, 70-75).”

[1:10]  ⁵⁶ tn The conjunction καί (kai) is not introducing a coordinate thought, but one that is logically subordinate to the main verb ἐγενόμην (egenomhn).