Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘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.
- BSB For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.
- NKJV Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
- NASB “For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
- NLT You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death.
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
Before the building begins, Moses reaffirms the Sabbath as a holy day of rest, on pain of death.
Overview
Even the sacred work of constructing the tabernacle must not override the Sabbath rest, placing worship and rest above religious activity. The severe penalty marked the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant. This priority of rest over works points to the gospel truth that we are saved not by our labors but by resting in Christ's finished work (Hebrews 4:9-10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Luke 13:14–15And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.
- Lev 23:3Six 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.
- Num 15:32–36And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
- Exod 20:9–10Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
- Exod 34:21Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.
- Exod 31:13–16Speak 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.
- Heb 10:28–29He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
- Exod 23:12Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
- Deut 5:12–15Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
- Heb 2:2–3For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
- John 5:16And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
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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 35:2 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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