Deuteronomy 5:12
New International Version
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

New Living Translation
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

English Standard Version
“‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

Berean Standard Bible
Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

King James Bible
Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

New King James Version
‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

New American Standard Bible
‘Keep the Sabbath day to treat it as holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

NASB 1995
‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

NASB 1977
‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

Legacy Standard Bible
‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you.

Amplified Bible
‘Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God), as the LORD your God commanded you.

Christian Standard Bible
Be careful to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy as the LORD your God has commanded you.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Be careful to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy as the LORD your God has commanded you.

American Standard Version
Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee.

Contemporary English Version
Show respect for the Sabbath Day--it belongs to me.

English Revised Version
Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD thy God commanded thee.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Observe the day of worship as a holy day. This is what the LORD your God has commanded you.

Good News Translation
"'Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy, as I, the LORD your God, have commanded you.

International Standard Version
"'You are to keep the Sabbath day holy, just as the LORD your God commanded.

Majority Standard Bible
Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

NET Bible
Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the LORD your God has commanded you.

New Heart English Bible
"Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.

Webster's Bible Translation
Keep the sabbath-day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.

World English Bible
“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Observe the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as your God YHWH has commanded you;

Young's Literal Translation
'Observe the day of the sabbath -- to sanctify it, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee;

Smith's Literal Translation
Watch the day of the Sabbath to consecrate it, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Observe the day of the sabbath, to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Observe the day of the Sabbath, so that you may sanctify it, just as the Lord your God has instructed you.

New American Bible
Observe the sabbath day—keep it holy, as the LORD, your God, commanded you.

New Revised Standard Version
Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Keep the sabbath day and sanctify it, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Keep the day of the Sabbath and hallow it as LORD JEHOVAH your God commanded you.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD thy God commanded thee.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God commanded thee.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Ten Commandments
11You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain. 12Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13Six days you shall labor and do all your work,…

Cross References
Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. / Six days you shall labor and do all your work, / but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. ...

Genesis 2:2-3
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. / Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.

Exodus 31:13-17
“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. / Keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Anyone who profanes it must surely be put to death. Whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from among his people. / For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death. ...

Leviticus 23:3
For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.

Isaiah 58:13-14
If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words, / then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Nehemiah 13:15-22
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, along with wine, grapes, and figs. All kinds of goods were being brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them against selling food on that day. / Additionally, men of Tyre who lived there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem. / Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day? ...

Ezekiel 20:12
I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

Ezekiel 20:20
Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

Matthew 12:8
For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27-28
Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. / Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Luke 6:5
Then Jesus declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Hebrews 4:9-10
There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. / For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.

Colossians 2:16-17
Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. / These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.

Romans 14:5-6
One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. / He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

Acts 20:7
On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Since Paul was ready to leave the next day, he talked to them and kept on speaking until midnight.


Treasury of Scripture

Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy…

Isaiah 56:6
Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

Isaiah 58:13
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

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Deuteronomy 5
1. The covenant in Horeb
6. The ten commandments
23. At the people's request Moses receives the law from God














Observe the Sabbath day
The Hebrew word for "observe" is "שָׁמוֹר" (shamor), which means to keep, guard, or watch over. This implies an active engagement and intentionality in maintaining the sanctity of the Sabbath. The Sabbath, or "שַׁבָּת" (Shabbat), is rooted in the creation narrative where God rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3). Historically, the Sabbath served as a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, setting them apart from other nations. It was a day of rest and spiritual rejuvenation, reflecting God's rest after creation and symbolizing trust in His provision.

by keeping it holy
The phrase "keeping it holy" comes from the Hebrew "לְקַדְּשׁוֹ" (leqaddesho), which means to sanctify or set apart. Holiness in the biblical sense involves separation from the ordinary and dedication to God. The Sabbath was not merely a day off from labor but a sacred time dedicated to worship and reflection on God's goodness and faithfulness. It was a reminder of God's holiness and His call for His people to be holy as well. The act of sanctifying the Sabbath was a declaration of faith, acknowledging God's sovereignty over time and life.

as the LORD your God has commanded you
The phrase "as the LORD your God has commanded you" emphasizes the divine authority behind the command. The name "LORD" is the translation of "יהוה" (YHWH), the personal name of God, which signifies His eternal presence and covenantal faithfulness. The use of "your God" personalizes the relationship, reminding the Israelites of their unique bond with God. This command is not a mere suggestion but a divine mandate, reflecting God's desire for His people to live in a rhythm of work and rest that honors Him. It underscores the importance of obedience to God's commands as an expression of love and reverence for Him.

(12-15) The language of this commandment is identical with the form it takes in Exodus only so far as the 13th and 14th verses are concerned; and even here the special mention of the ox and the ass is confined to Deuteronomy. The introduction and the close of the command, which gives the reason for it, are different here. The reason drawn from the creation is not mentioned; the reason drawn from the exodus is. This fact illustrates the observation that in Deuteronomy we find "the Gospel of the Pentateuch." If for the exodus of Israel we substitute here "the exodus of Christ, which He accomplished at Jerusalem," not so much by His death as by His resurrection, we have a reason for keeping not the Sabbath, but the Lord's Day.

It is worth while to observe that the Israelites had express authority given them to enforce the observance of the Sabbath upon Gentiles, when these could be regarded as "strangers within their gates." The words Isaiah 56:6 seem to show that "strangers" who "took hold of the covenant" of Jehovah were expected to "keep His sabbath from polluting it." For an example of its enforcement, see Nehemiah 13:16; Nehemiah 13:20-21.

If any difficulty is felt at the variation of the form of the commandment from that which we have in Exodus, it should be observed, first, that the command itself is not altered, as appears by Deuteronomy 5:13-14, compared with Exodus 20:9-10; and secondly, that in this exhortation Moses calls Israel to hear the statutes and judgments which he, as their mediator, commands them, and that he is free to enforce them by such reasons as may seem to him best. . . .

Verses 12-14. - Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. This phraseology implies that the Sabbath institute was already well known to the people of Israel; so that this commandment was intended, not to enact a new observance, but to enforce the continuance of an observance which had come down to them from earlier times. The Sabbath was to be kept by being sanctified. This means that it was to be consecrated to God to be used as he had appointed. The sanctification of any object "always goes back to an act of the Divine will, to Divine election and institution. In other words, it is always a state in which the creature [or institute] is bound to God by the appointment of God himself, which is expressed by קֹדֶשׁ הִקְדִישׁ קִדֵּשׁ קָדושׁ, XXX" (Oehler, 'Theology of the Old Testament,' vol. 1. p. 155). The sanctification of the Sabbath, accordingly, was the consecration of that day to the Lord, to be observed as he had enjoined, that is, as a day of rest from all servile work and ordinary occupations. Among the Jews, those who were careful to keep this law "rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56). Not, however, in mere indolence and idle vacancy, unworthy of a man. Not thus could the day be sanctified to the Lord. Man had to "release his soul and body from all their burdens, with all the professions and pursuits of ordinary life, only in order to gather himself together again in God with greater purity and fewer disturbing elements, and renew in him the might of his own better powers" (Ewald, 'Antiquities of Israel,' p. 102). In the Sabbath institute, therefore, lies the basis of spiritual worship and pious service in Israel.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Remember
שָׁמ֣֛וֹר (šā·mō·wr)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 8104: To hedge about, guard, to protect, attend to

the Sabbath
הַשַׁבָּ֖֨ת‪‬‪‬ (haš·šab·bāṯ)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 7676: Intermission, the Sabbath

day
י֥וֹם֩ (yō·wm)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3117: A day

by keeping it holy,
לְקַדְּשׁ֑֜וֹ (lə·qad·də·šōw)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6942: To be set apart or consecrated

as
כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר (ka·’ă·šer)
Preposition-k | Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

the LORD
יְהוָ֥֣ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

your God
אֱלֹהֶֽ֗יךָ‪‬ (’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

has commanded you.
צִוְּךָ֖֣ ׀ (ṣiw·wə·ḵā)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6680: To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 5:12 Observe the Sabbath day to keep it (Deut. De Du)
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