Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you.
- KJV Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
- NKJV ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
- NASB ‘Keep the Sabbath day to treat it as holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
- NLT “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel must keep the Sabbath day holy as God commanded. The fourth commandment sets apart a day for rest and worship.
Overview
God commands that the Sabbath be observed and treated as holy, distinct from ordinary days. Here Deuteronomy roots the Sabbath in redemption rather than creation (as in Exodus). Christians honor the principle of holy rest, with most seeing its fulfillment and a new pattern in Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath who gives true rest (Matthew 11:28, Hebrews 4:9-10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Exod 20:8–11Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- Isa 58:13If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,
- Isa 56:6And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD to minister to Him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be His servants—all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it and who hold fast to My covenant—
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 5:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.