“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
Parallel translations
- WEB “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.
- KJV Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
- NKJV “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
- NASB “Now as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You must keep My Sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.
- NLT “Tell the people of Israel: ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.
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 God's Sabbaths as a sign that Yahweh sanctifies them. The Sabbath marked Israel as God's set-apart people.
Overview
The Sabbath served as a covenant sign, pointing to the God who makes His people holy. Resting one day in seven testified that their sanctification was God's work, not their own. This anticipates the gospel rest found in Christ, who is our sanctification and in whom we cease from striving (1 Corinthians 1:30; Matthew 11:28-29). Christians differ on how the Sabbath principle applies today, while agreeing it finds its fulfillment in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Ezek 20:20Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’
- Ezek 20:12I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
- Lev 19:30You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.
- Exod 20:8–11Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
- 1 Th 5:23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Exod 31:17It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”
- Lev 20:8And you shall keep My statutes and practice them. I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
- Lev 19:3Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must keep My Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
- John 17:17Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.
- Lev 21:8You are to regard him as holy, since he presents the food of your God. He shall be holy to you, because I the LORD am holy—I who set you apart.
- Lev 23:3For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.
- Neh 9:14You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.
- Ezek 37:28Then the nations will know that I the LORD sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is among them forever.’”
- Ezek 44:24In any dispute, they shall officiate as judges and judge according to My ordinances. They must keep My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed feasts, and they must keep My Sabbaths holy.
- Lev 26:2You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.
- Lev 25:2“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD.
- John 17:19For them I sanctify Myself, so that they too may be sanctified by the truth.
- Jude 1:1Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who are called, loved by God the Father, and kept in Jesus Christ:
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 31:13 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
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