New Living Translation
Exodus 31:15
15You 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.
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.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- 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.
Context of Exodus 31:15
13“Tell the people of Israel: ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy. 14You 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. 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. 16The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. 17It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working 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 permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’”
- Exodus 16:26You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day.”
- Exodus 20:9You have six days each week for your ordinary work,
- Exodus 34:21“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.
- Leviticus 23:3“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.
- Ezekiel 46:1“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The east gateway of the inner courtyard will be closed during the six workdays each week, but it will be open on Sabbath days and the days of new moon celebrations.
- Luke 13:14But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”
- Exodus 16:23He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”
- Exodus 20:10but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you.
- Genesis 2:2On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.
- Luke 23:56Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.
- Hebrews 4:9So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God.
- Numbers 15:32One day while the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they discovered a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
- Jeremiah 17:24“‘But if you obey me, says the Lord, and do not carry on your trade at the gates or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy,
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
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries