'Sabbath' in the Bible
He said to them, "This is what the Lord has said: 'Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Whatever you want to bake, bake today; whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.'"
Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the area.
Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."
See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, that is why he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day. Each of you stay where you are; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day."
but 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, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.
So you must keep the Sabbath, for it is holy for you. Everyone who defiles it must surely be put to death; indeed, if anyone does any work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his people.
Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death.
The Israelites must keep the Sabbath by observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
In six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord. Anyone who does work on it will be put to death.
You must not kindle a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath day."
It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves. It is a perpetual statute.
"'Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.
and he must wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for your benefit -- on the day after the Sabbath the priest is to wave it.
"'You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks.
You must count fifty days -- until the day after the seventh Sabbath -- and then you must present a new grain offering to the Lord.
It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening until evening you must observe your Sabbath."
Each Sabbath day Aaron must arrange it before the Lord continually; this portion is from the Israelites as a perpetual covenant.
"Speak to the Israelites and tell them, 'When you enter the land that I am giving you, the land must observe a Sabbath to the Lord.
but in the seventh year the land must have a Sabbath of complete rest -- a Sabbath to the Lord. You must not sow your field or prune your vineyard.
You may have the Sabbath produce of the land to eat -- you, your male servant, your female servant, your hired worker, the resident foreigner who stays with you,
When the Israelites were in the wilderness they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
"'On the Sabbath day, you must offer two unblemished lambs a year old, and two-tenths of an ephah of finely ground flour as a grain offering, mixed with olive oil, along with its drink offering.
This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, besides the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you.
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest.
Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
He said, "Why do you want to go see him today? It is not the new moon or the Sabbath." She said, "Everything's fine."
He ordered them, "This is what you must do. One third of the unit that is on duty during the Sabbath will guard the royal palace.
The two units who are off duty on the Sabbath will guard the Lord's temple and protect the king.
The officers of the units of hundreds did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath, and reported to Jehoiada the priest.
He also removed the Sabbath awning that had been built in the temple and the king's outer entranceway, on account of the king of Assyria.
Some of the Kohathites, their relatives, were in charge of preparing the bread that is displayed each Sabbath.
and whenever burnt sacrifices were offered to the Lord on the Sabbath and at new moon festivals and assemblies. A designated number were to serve before the Lord regularly in accordance with regulations.
This is what you must do. One third of you priests and Levites who are on duty during the Sabbath will guard the doors.
The Levites and all the men of Judah did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each of them took his men, those who were on duty during the Sabbath as well as those who were off duty on the Sabbath. Jehoiada the priest did not release his divisions from their duties.
You made known to them your holy Sabbath; you issued commandments, statutes, and law to them through Moses your servant.
We will not buy on the Sabbath or on a holy day from the neighboring peoples who bring their wares and all kinds of grain to sell on the Sabbath day. We will let the fields lie fallow every seventh year, and we will cancel every loan.
In those days I saw people in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps of grain and loading them onto donkeys, along with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and bringing them to Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day that they sold these provisions.
The people from Tyre who lived there were bringing fish and all kinds of merchandise and were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah -- and in Jerusalem, of all places!
So I registered a complaint with the nobles of Judah, saying to them, "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day?
Isn't this the way your ancestors acted, causing our God to bring on them and on this city all this misfortune? And now you are causing even more wrath on Israel, profaning the Sabbath like this!"
When the evening shadows began to fall on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be closed. I further directed that they were not to be opened until after the Sabbath. I positioned some of my young men at the gates so that no load could enter on the Sabbath day.
But I warned them and said, "Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you repeat this, I will forcibly remove you!" From that time on they did not show up on the Sabbath.
Then I directed the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. For this please remember me, O my God, and have pity on me in keeping with your great love.
A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day. It is fitting to thank the Lord, and to sing praises to your name, O sovereign One!
The people who do this will be blessed, the people who commit themselves to obedience, who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, who refrain from doing anything that is wrong.
As for foreigners who become followers of the Lord and serve him, who love the name of the Lord and want to be his servants -- all who observe the Sabbath and do not defile it, and who are faithful to my covenant --
You must observe the Sabbath rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. You must look forward to the Sabbath and treat the Lord's holy day with respect. You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.
From one month to the next and from one Sabbath to the next, all people will come to worship me," says the Lord.
The Lord says, 'Be very careful if you value your lives! Do not carry any loads in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.
Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day. But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, as I commanded your ancestors.
The Lord says, 'You must make sure to obey me. You must not bring any loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. You must set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not do any work on that day.
But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.'"
"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: The gate of the inner court that faces east will be closed six working days, but on the Sabbath day it will be opened and on the day of the new moon it will be opened.
The burnt offering which the prince will offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day will be six unblemished lambs and one unblemished ram.
When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a voluntary offering to the Lord, the gate facing east will be opened for him, and he will provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings just as he did on the Sabbath. Then he will go out, and the gate will be closed after he goes out.
I will put an end to all her celebration: her annual religious festivals, monthly new moon celebrations, and weekly Sabbath festivities -- all her appointed festivals.
You say, "When will the new moon festival be over, so we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, so we can open up the grain bins? We're eager to sell less for a higher price, and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales!
At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat and eat them.
But when the Pharisees saw this they said to him, "Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath."
Or have you not read in the law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are not guilty?
A man was there who had a withered hand. And they asked Jesus, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" so that they could accuse him.
He said to them, "Would not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out?
How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
Now after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
Then they went to Capernaum. When the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.
Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat as they made their way.
So the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?"
Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath.
For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath."
They watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they could accuse him.
Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?" But they were silent.
When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were astonished, saying, "Where did he get these ideas? And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands?
Now when evening had already come, since it was the day of preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath),
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices so that they might go and anoint him.
Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
So he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people.
Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them.
But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?"
Then he said to them, "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath."
On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching. Now a man was there whose right hand was withered.
The experts in the law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they could find a reason to accuse him.
Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?"
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath,
But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, "There are six days on which work should be done! So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day."
Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, and lead it to water?
Then shouldn't this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be released from this imprisonment on the Sabbath day?"
Now one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine at the house of a leader of the Pharisees, they were watching him closely.
So Jesus asked the experts in religious law and the Pharisees, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"
Then he said to them, "Which of you, if you have a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?"
It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning.
Then they returned and prepared aromatic spices and perfumes. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Immediately the man was healed, and he picked up his mat and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)
So the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat."
Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began persecuting him.
For this reason the Jewish leaders were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.