Leviticus 23:3

The Weekly Sabbath

23:3 “‘Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, ¹  a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.

Leviticus 23:7-8

23:7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work. ²  23:8 You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”

Leviticus 23:21

23:21 “‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. ³  You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations. ⁴ 

Leviticus 23:28

23:28 You must not do any work on this particular day, ⁵  because it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves ⁶  before the Lord your God.

Leviticus 23:36

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; ⁷  you must not do any regular work.

Exodus 12:16

12:16 On the first day there will be a holy convocation, ⁸  and on the seventh day there will be a holy convocation for you. You must do no work of any kind ⁹  on them, only what every person will eat – that alone may be prepared for you.

Exodus 20:10

20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it ¹⁰  you shall not do any work, you, ¹¹  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. ¹² 

Isaiah 58:13

58:13 You must ¹³  observe the Sabbath ¹⁴ 

rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. ¹⁵ 

You must look forward to the Sabbath ¹⁶ 

and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. ¹⁷ 

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

and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. ¹⁸ 

Hebrews 4:10

4:10 For the one who enters God’s ¹⁹  rest has also rested from his works, just as God did from his own works.

[23:3]  ¹ tn This is a superlative expression, emphasizing the full and all inclusive rest of the Sabbath and certain festival times throughout the chapter (see B. A. Levine, Leviticus [JPSTC], 155). Cf. ASV “a sabbath of solemn rest.”

[23:7]  ² tn Heb “work of service”; KJV “servile work”; NASB “laborious work”; TEV “daily work.”

[23:21]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “for your generations.”

[23:28]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the bone of this day.”

[23:28]  ⁶ tn Heb “on you [plural]”; cf. NASB, NRSV “on your behalf.”

[23:36]  ⁷ 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.”

[12:16]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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).

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

[20:10]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.

[58:13]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”

[58:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”

[58:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”

[58:13]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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).

[4:10]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.