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.
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
- 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 13:14–15The 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!”
- Lev 23:3“‘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.
- Num 15:32–36While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
- Exod 20:9–10You shall labor six days, and do all your work,
- Exod 34:21“Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.
- Exod 31:13–16“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.
- Heb 10:28–29A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses.
- Exod 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.
- Deut 5:12–15“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you.
- Heb 2:2–3For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense;
- John 5:16For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.
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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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