“ ‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no kind of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings.
Parallel Translations
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“ ‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no kind of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings.
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Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
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Six days shall work be done; but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of work; it is a sabbath unto the LORD in all your dwellings.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Leviticus 23:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Leviticus 19:3 “ ‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God.
- Exodus 23:12 “Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant, and the alien may be refreshed.
- Exodus 35:2-3 ‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to Yahweh: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.’ ”
- Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
- Exodus 31:13-17 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Most certainly you shall keep my Sabbaths; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.’ ”
- Exodus 34:21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.
- Luke 13:14 The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, “There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day!”
- Exodus 16:29 Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”
- Deuteronomy 5:13-14 You shall labor six days, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God, in which you shall not do any work— neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
- Isaiah 56:2 Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast; who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
- Isaiah 56:6 Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh to serve him, and to love Yahweh’s name, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast my covenant,
- Isaiah 58:13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words,
- Luke 23:56 They returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
- Acts 15:21 For Moses from generations of old has in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
- Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet
- Exodus 16:23 He said to them, “This is that which Yahweh has spoken, ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.’ ”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, ye may work.
Or, ye may work.
Or, assembly.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Lev 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but…
Lev 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day [is] the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work [therein]: it [is] the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
Ver. 3. Ye shall do no work therein.] Save only works of piety, charity, and necessity. These are allowed by our Saviour. {Mar 2:23-28; Mar 3:4} The Jews superstitiously hold, {a} that it is not lawful for a blind man to lean upon a staff on a Sabbath day, as the lame may: that if a flea bite a man on that day, he may take it, but not kill it. That if a thorn prick him in the foot on that day, he may not pull it out. That a tailor may not carry a needle, much less a sword; that a man may not spet, {b} or be taken out of a jakes, as that Jew of Tewkesbury, who said,
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“ Sabbata santa colo, de stercore {c} surgere nolo. ”
Whereunto the Earl of Gloucester replied,
“"Sabbata nostra quidem (Solomon) celebrabis ibidem." ”
“(Sir, reverence {d} of the Sabbath keeps me here:
And you, sir, reverence {e} shall our Sabbath there.)”
In all your dwellings.] Where you are to sanctify this rest, and to repair to your synagogues. {Act 15:21}
{a} Ranulph., lib. vii. cap. 37.
{b} [?Spit.]
{c} [A play upon the double meaning of the word stercus. See Ainsworth’s Dictionary.]
{d} Ibid.
{e} Idid.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain No work; so it runs in the general for…
No work; so it runs in the general for the sabbath day, and for the day of expiation, Lev 23:28, excluding all works about earthly occasions or employments, whether of profit or pleasure; but on other feast days he forbids only servile works, as Lev 23:7,21,36, for surely this manifest difference in the expressions used by the wise God must needs imply a difference in the things. In all your dwellings: this is added to distinguish the sabbath from other feasts, which were to be kept before the Lord in Jerusalem only, whither all the males were to come for that end; but the sabbath was to be kept in all places, where they were, both in synagogues, which were erected for that end, and in their private houses.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Six days shall work be done,.... Or may be…
Six days shall work be done,.... Or may be done by men, any sort of lawful work and honest labour, for the sustenance of themselves and families:
but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest; from all bodily labour and work of any kind; typical of rest by Christ and in him:
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an holy convocation; when the people were called to holy exercises, to pray and praise, and hear the word, and offer sacrifice:
ye shall do no work therein; not any at all, see Exo 31:15,
it is the sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings: other feasts were kept in the sanctuary, in the tabernacle or temple, or where they were; but this was not only observed there and in their synagogues, but in their private houses, or wherever they were, whether, travelling by sea or land; and so the Targum of Jonathan and Aben Ezra interpret it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Ye shall do no work therein - So it…
Ye shall do no work therein - So it runs in the general for the sabbath day, and for the day of expiation, ver. 28, excluding all works about earthly employments whether of profit or of pleasure; but upon other feast days he forbids only servile works, as ver. 7, 21, 36, for surely this manifest difference in the expressions used by the wife God must needs imply a difference in the things. In all your dwellings - Other feasts, were to be kept before the Lord in Jerusalem only, whither all the males were to come for that end; but the sabbath was to be kept in all places, both in synagogues, and in their private houses.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. The seventh day is the Sabbath] This,…
Verse 3. The seventh day is the Sabbath] This, because the first and greatest solemnity, is first mentioned. He who kept not this, in the most religious manner, was not capable of keeping any of the others. The religious observance of the Sabbath stands at the very threshold of all religion. See Clarke on Ge 2:3.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Lev 23:3. The seventh day is first named as…
Lev 23:3. The seventh day is first named as a holy convocation — A day to be kept holy by every Israelite, in all places wheresoever they dwelt, as well as while they lived in the wilderness; and as a day of rest, in which they were to do no work — A similar prohibition is declared Lev 23:28, concerning the day of expiation, excluding all works about earthly employments, whether of profit or of pleasure; but upon other feast-days he forbids only servile works, as Lev 23:7; Lev 23:21; Lev 23:36; for surely this manifest difference in the expressions used by the wise God, must needs imply a difference in the things. In all your dwellings — Other feasts were to be kept before the Lord in Jerusalem only, whither all the males were to come for that end; but the sabbath was to be kept in all places, both in synagogues, and in their private houses.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The seventh day had been consecrated as the Sabbath…
The seventh day had been consecrated as the Sabbath of Yahweh, figuring His own rest; it was the acknowledged sign of the covenant between God and His people. See the Exo 20:1-11 notes. As such it properly held its place at the head of the days of holy convocation.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Sabbath. Hebrew, "the rest of rest;" a day in…
Sabbath. Hebrew, "the rest of rest;" a day in which no unnecessary servile work must be done, no more than on the great holidays, ver. 6, 8. (Haydock) --- Called holy, because it shall be really so: in which sense the word is often used, Isaias ix. 6, &c. --- Day; you must not even dress meat, which was also forbidden on the day of expiation. --- Lord, on which he ceased from work, and which you must keep in his honour. --- Habitations. In the temple, the priests were intent upon sacrificing, which was indeed a material, but not a formal, violation of the sabbath, Matthew xii. 5.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Six days shall work be done: but the seventh…
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest--(See on Exo 20:8). The Sabbath has the precedence given to it, and it was to be "a holy convocation," observed by families "in their dwellings"; where practicable, by the people repairing to the door of the tabernacle; at later periods, by meeting in the schools of the prophets, and in synagogues.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 3. The seventh day is the sabbath — See…
THE SABBATH.
3. The seventh day is the sabbath — See notes on Exo_16:23; Exo_20:8-11.
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Ye shall do no work — Except in obedience to the higher law of brotherly kindness, (Exo_23:4; Deu_22:1-4,) and of compassion to the brute creature, (Mat_12:11,) commonly called works of necessity and of mercy.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (3) Six days shall work be done.—Recurring every week,…
(3) Six days shall work be done.—Recurring every week, and being the most important as well as the oldest of all festivals, the sabbath introduces the holy seasons. Hence, during the second Temple it was declared that “the sabbath is in importance equal to the whole law; he who profanes the sabbath openly is like him who transgresses the whole law.” The hour at which it began and ended was announced by three blasts of the trumpets.
Ye shall do no work therein.—Better, ye shall do no manner of work, as the Authorised version renders this phrase in Lev_23:31 of this very chapter. (See Lev_16:29.) Whilst on all other festivals servile work only was forbidden (see Lev_23:7-8; Lev_23:21; Lev_23:25; Lev_23:35-36), and work connected with the preparation of the necessary food was permitted (see Exo_12:16), the sabbath and the day of atonement were the only days on which the Israelites were prohibited to engage in any work whatsoever. (See Lev_23:28; Lev_23:30; Lev_16:29.) Though manual labour on the sabbath was punished with death by lapidation (see Exo_31:14-15; Exo_35:2; Num_15:35-36), and though the authorities during the second Temple multiplied and registered most minutely the things which constitute labour, yet these administrators of the Law have enacted that in cases of illness and of any danger work is permitted. They laid down the principle that “the sabbath is delivered into your hand, but not you into the hand of the sabbath.” Similar is the declaration of Christ (Mat_12:8, Mar_2:27-28).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues telling Moses what the people must do on special days and times.
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the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest
This is something the people must do habitually. After every six days in which they can work, they must rest on the seventh day.
a holy assembly
The requirement that people assemble to worship God on that day is spoken of as if that day were the assembly. AT: "a holy day, when you must assemble together to worship me" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
works
Sabbath
rest
holy
assembly
life
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.