New King James Version
Exodus 31:14
14You 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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community.
Context of Exodus 31:14
12And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 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. 15Work 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. 16Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
Read all of Exodus 31Exodus 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 Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
- Deuteronomy 5:12‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.
- Nehemiah 9:14You made known to them Your holy Sabbath, And commanded them precepts, statutes and laws, By the hand of Moses Your servant.
- Isaiah 56:1Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come, And My righteousness to be revealed.
- Isaiah 58:13“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words,
- Ezekiel 20:12Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.
- Ezekiel 44:24In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.
- Isaiah 56:2Blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who lays hold on it; Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
- Ezekiel 20:13Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they did not walk in My statutes; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them.
- Exodus 35:2Work 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.
- Numbers 15:35Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”
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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries