One day while the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they discovered a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
Parallel translations
- WEB While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
- KJV And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
- BSB While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
- NKJV Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
- NASB Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
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
In the wilderness a man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. This case illustrates defiant violation of God's clear command.
Overview
Immediately following the law on high-handed sin, this incident provides a concrete example of open Sabbath-breaking. The Sabbath was a sign of the covenant, so violating it publicly defied the LORD. The episode reminds us of the holiness of God's appointed rest, which ultimately points to the true rest believers find in Christ (Hebrews 4:9-10).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Exod 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.
- Exod 16:23He 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.’”
- Exod 16:27–28On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none.
- Exod 31:14–15You 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.
- Exod 20:8–10“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 15:32 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.