English Standard Version
Exodus 31:15
15Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.
Exodus 31:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
- New International Version (NIV)For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
- New Living Translation (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 the Sabbath must be put to death.
Context of Exodus 31:15
13"You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. 17It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"
Read all of Exodus 31Exodus 31:15 word by word
שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִים֮ יֵעָשֶׂ֣ה מְלָאכָה֒ וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗י שַׁבַּ֧ת שַׁבָּת֛וֹן קֹ֖דֶשׁ לַיהוָ֑ה כָּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֧ה מְלָאכָ֛ה בְּי֥וֹם הַשַּׁבָּ֖ת מ֥וֹת יוּמָֽת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Sixשֵׁשׁshêsh shishshâh · sixH8337
- daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- may workמְלָאכָהmelâ'kâh · workH4399
- be doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- but in the seventhשְׁבִיעִיshebîy‛îy shebi‛îy · seventhH7637
- the sabbathשַׁבָּתshabbâth · SabbathH7676
- of restשַׁבָּתוֹןshabbâthôn · sabbath observanceH7677
- holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
- to the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- he shall surelyמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
Cross-references for Exodus 31:15
- Exodus 31:17It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"
- Exodus 16:26Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none."
- Exodus 20:9Six days you shall labor, and do all your work,
- Exodus 34:21"Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.
- Leviticus 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 work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.
- Ezekiel 46:1"Thus says the Lord God: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.
- Luke 13:14But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day."
- Exodus 16:23he said to them, "This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.'"
- Exodus 20:10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
- Genesis 2:2And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
- Luke 23:56Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
- Hebrews 4:9So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
- Numbers 15:32While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
- Jeremiah 17:24"'But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it,
Commentaries on Exodus 31:15
- 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. 14-15It is very important to learn that we find life in God only by coming to him in his way. This truth is made clear by the death penalty for disobedience (see also Numbers 15:32–36). This does not mean that God’s people must punish these sins in the same way. But at the beginning, God needed to make this truth clear (see Acts 5:1–11). If people do not understand this spiritual lesson, ritual obedience will not help them. Ritual obedience means simply…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 31:15
In the dictionaries
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
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