Exodus 31:14

Exodus 31:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
• New International Version (NIV)“ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You 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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You 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 on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.

Context of Exodus 31:14

12The Lord said to Moses, 13“Say to the Israelites, ‘Be sure to observe my days of rest as holy days. This will be a sign between me and you for generations to come so that you will know that I am the Lord who makes you holy. “ ‘Observe the day of rest because it is holy to you. Whoever treats it like any other day must be put to death. Whoever works on that day must be excluded from the people. 15You may work for six days, but the seventh day is a day of rest—a holy day, a day when you don’t work. It is holy to the Lord. Whoever works on that day must be put to death. 16The Israelites must observe this day of rest as a holy day, celebrating it for generations to come as a permanent reminder of my promise.

Exodus 31:14 word by word

וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֙ אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת כִּ֛י קֹ֥דֶשׁ הִ֖וא לָכֶ֑ם מְחַֽלְלֶ֙יהָ֙ מ֣וֹת יוּמָ֔ת כִּ֗י כָּל־הָעֹשֶׂ֥ה בָהּ֙ מְלָאכָ֔ה וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מִקֶּ֥רֶב עַמֶּֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ye shall keepשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: obeyH8104
• the sabbathשַׁבָּתshabbâth · SabbathH7676
• holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
• unto you: every one that defilethחָלַלchâlal · to profane/begin: profaneH2490
• it shall surelyמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• for whosoever doethעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• workמְלָאכָהmelâ'kâh · workH4399
• therein, that soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: personH5315
• shall be cut offכָּרַתkârath · to cut: eliminateH3772
• from amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• his peopleעַם‛am · kinsmanH5971

Cross-references for Exodus 31:14

• Exodus 20:8“Remember the day of rest by observing it as a holy day.
• Deuteronomy 5:12“Observe the day of rest as a holy day. This is what the Lord your God has commanded you.
• Nehemiah 9:14You taught them about your holy day of rest. You gave them commandments, laws, and teachings through your servant Moses.
• Isaiah 56:1This is what the Lord says: Preserve justice, and do what is right. My salvation is about to come. My righteousness is about to be revealed.
• Isaiah 58:13If you stop trampling on the day of rest and doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the day of rest a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way, by not going out when you want, and by not talking idly,
• Ezekiel 20:12I also gave them certain days to worship me as a sign between us so that they would know that I, the Lord, made them holy.
• Ezekiel 44:24In all disputes the priests must act as judges and make decisions based on my laws. They must obey my rules and my regulations at all my festivals. They must observe holy days to worship me.
• Isaiah 56:2Blessed is the one who does these things and the person who holds on to them. Blessed is the one who keeps the day of rest—a holy day, from becoming unholy and his hands from doing anything wrong.
• Ezekiel 20:13“ ‘But the people of Israel rebelled against me in the desert. They didn’t live by my laws, and they rejected my rules. If people obey them, they will live. They dishonored the days of rest—holy days on which to worship me. So I was going to pour out my fury on them in the desert and completely wipe them out.
• Exodus 35:2You may work for six days, but the seventh day is a holy day of rest, a day when you don’t work. It is dedicated to the Lord. Whoever does any work on this day should be put to death.
• Numbers 15:35Then the Lord said to Moses, “This man must be put to death. The whole community must take him outside the camp and stone him.”

Commentaries on Exodus 31:14

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Every one that defileth it - By any kind of idolatrous or profane worship. Shall surely be put to death - The magistrates shall examine into the business, and if the accused be found guilty, he shall be stoned to death. Shall be cut off - Because that person who could so far contemn the Sabbath, which was a sign to them of the rest which remained for the people of God, was of course an infidel, and should be cut off from all the privileges and…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. 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 31:14

• Art
• Sabbath
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• Call
• Therein
• Wisdom
• Workmanship
• Write
• Excommunication
• Exodus, the Book of
• Law in the Old Testament
• Leviticus
• Mediation; Mediator

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