Exodus 31:16

Exodus 31:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
• New International Version (NIV)The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

Context of Exodus 31:16

14The Sabbath day must be special for you, because it is a holy day. If anyone does not make the Sabbath a special day, you must punish him with death. If anyone does any work on a Sabbath day, he can no longer belong to my people. 15You may work for six days each week, but the seventh day is a day of rest. It is a holy day that is special to me, the Lord. If anyone does any work on a Sabbath day, you must punish him with death. The Israelites must always keep the Sabbath as a special day. They must obey the rules for the Sabbath day. Those rules are part of my covenant with my people that continues for ever. 17It will always be a sign that I have chosen the Israelites to be my people. You will remember that the Lord made the heavens and the earth in six days. Then, on the seventh day, he stopped working and he rested.” ’ 18The Lord finished speaking to Moses on Sinai mountain. Then he gave Moses the two flat stones with the special commands that God himself had written on them.

Exodus 31:16 word by word

וְשָׁמְר֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֑ת לַעֲשׂ֧וֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֛ת לְדֹרֹתָ֖ם בְּרִ֥ית עוֹלָֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Wherefore the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• shall keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
• the sabbathשַׁבָּתshabbâth · SabbathH7676
• to observeעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• throughout their generationsדּוֹרdôr dôr · generationH1755
• a perpetualעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
• covenantבְּרִיתberîyth · covenantH1285

Cross-references for Exodus 31:16

• Genesis 9:13I have put my rainbow among the clouds in the sky. It will show you clearly that I have made this covenant with everything on the earth.
• Genesis 17:11Your circumcision will show that you have agreed to my covenant with you.
• Jeremiah 50:5They will ask people to show them the way to Zion. They will travel in that direction. They will promise to serve the Lord. They will make a covenant with him that will continue for ever. Nobody will ever forget that covenant.

Commentaries on Exodus 31:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16A perpetual covenant - Because it is a sign of this future rest and blessedness, therefore the religious observance of it must be perpetually kept up. The type must continue in force till the antitype come.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 The penal law of the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2-3. In the fourth commandment the injunction to observe the seventh day is addressed to the conscience of the people (see Exodus 20:8 note): in this place, the object is to declare an infraction of the commandment to be a capital offence. The two passages stand in a relation to each other similar to that between Exodus 31:14 See Numbers 15:32-36. The distinction between the meaning of the two…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-17Verses 12-17 Orders were now given that a tabernacle should be set up for the service of God. But they must not think that the nature of the work, and the haste that was required, would justify them in working at it on sabbath days. The Hebrew word /shabath/ signifies rest, or ceasing from labour. The thing signified by the sabbath is that rest in glory which remains for the people of God; therefore the moral obligation of the sabbath must continue, till…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-18The Sabbath was understood to be the unique sign of the covenant (31:13, 16, 17; see also 20:8–11; Isaiah 58:13–14; Jeremiah 17:21–27; Nehemiah 13:15–22). The Sabbath also played an important role in God’s plan to make his people holy. Holy refers to being set apart for God’s special use and sharing his character (Exodus 31:13, 14, 15). By resting on the Sabbath, the people showed that they belonged to him. They stopped their own work on that day (31:15…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1712-17. Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep--The reason for the fresh inculcation of the fourth commandment at this particular period was, that the great ardor and eagerness, with which all classes betook themselves to the construction of the tabernacle, exposed them to the temptation of encroaching on the sanctity of the appointed day of rest. They might suppose that the erection of the tabernacle was a sacred work, and that it would be a high merit, an…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 31:16

• Covenant
• Sabbath
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Children of Israel
• Call
• Covenant
• Therein
• Wisdom
• Workmanship
• Write

Commentaries on Exodus 31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings