'Sabbath' in the Bible

He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord’; bake and boil what you will bake and boil [today], and all that remains left over put aside for yourselves to keep until morning.”

Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field.

Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none [in the field].”

See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you the bread for two days on the sixth day. Let every man stay in his place; no man is to leave his place on the seventh day.”

“Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God).

but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates.

For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [that is, set it apart for His purposes].

“Six days [each week] you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall stop [working] so that your ox and your donkey may settle down and rest, and the son of your female servant, as well as your stranger, may be refreshed.

Therefore, you shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it must be put to death; for whoever does work on the Sabbath, that person (soul) shall be cut off from among his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

For six days work may be done, but the seventh is the Sabbath of complete rest, sacred to the Lord; whoever does work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.

So the Israelites shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’

“You shall work for six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; [even] in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest [on the Sabbath].

“For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of complete rest to the Lord; whoever does any kind of work on that day shall be put to death.

You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

It is a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall humble yourselves; it is a permanent statute.

‘For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation (calling together). You shall not do any work [on that day]; it is the Sabbath of the Lord wherever you may be.

He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord so that you may be accepted; the priest shall wave it on the day after the Sabbath.

‘You shall count from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf (tied bundle of grain) of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths (seven full weeks).

You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.

It is to be to you a Sabbath of complete rest, and you shall humble yourselves. On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening you shall keep your Sabbath.”

‘On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month (nearly October), when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the Lord for seven days, with a Sabbath rest on the first day and a Sabbath rest on the eighth day.

Every Sabbath day Aaron shall arrange the showbread before the Lord continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the Israelites.

“Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land which I am giving you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord.

But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord; you shall not sow [seed in] your field nor prune your vineyard.

And all of you shall have for food whatever the [untilled] land produces during its Sabbath year; yourself, and your male and female slaves, your hired servant, and the foreigners who reside among you,

Now while the Israelites were in the wilderness, they found a man who was gathering wood on the Sabbath day.

‘Then on the Sabbath day two male lambs one year old without blemish, and two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering.

This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

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

but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock or the stranger who stays inside your [city] gates, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

You shall remember [with thoughtful concern] that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

He said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.” And she said, “It will be all right.”

He commanded them, saying, “This is the thing that you shall do: a third of you who come in [reporting for duty] on the Sabbath shall keep watch over the king’s house

Two units of you, all those who go out [off duty] on the Sabbath, shall also keep watch over the house (temple) of the Lord for [the protection of] the king.

The captains of hundreds acted in accordance with everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded; and each of them took his men who were to come in (on duty) on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out (off duty) on the Sabbath, and they came to Jehoiada the priest.

He removed from the house of the Lord the covered way for the Sabbath which they had built in the house, and the outer entrance of the king, because of the king of Assyria [who might confiscate them].

Some of their Kohathite relatives were in charge of the showbread to prepare it every Sabbath.

This is what you shall do: a third of you, of the priests and Levites who are resuming service on the Sabbath, shall be gatekeepers,

So the Levites and all Judah acted in accordance with everything that Jehoiada the priest had commanded; and every man took his men who were to resume duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss [any of] the divisions [from their duties].

to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had restored its Sabbaths; for as long as the land lay desolate it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete.

“So You made known to them Your holy Sabbath,And gave them commandments, statutes, and law,Through Your servant Moses.

As for the peoples of the land who bring merchandise or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day; and we will give up raising crops during the seventh year [leaving the land uncultivated], and forgive every debt.

In those days I saw some in Judah who were treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves or sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. So I protested and warned them on the day they sold the produce.

Also men of Tyre were living there who brought fish and all kinds of merchandise, and they were selling them to the people of Judah on the Sabbath, even in Jerusalem.

Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day?

Did your fathers (ancestors) not do the same, and did our God not bring all this trouble on us and on this city? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

Now when it began to get dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath [began], I commanded that the doors be shut and not be opened until after the Sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load [of merchandise] would enter [Jerusalem] on the Sabbath day.

But I warned them, saying, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you.” From that time on, they did not come on the Sabbath.

And I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. O my God, remember me concerning this also and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

“Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this,And the son of man who takes hold of it,Who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it,And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,To be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath without profaning itAnd holds fast to My covenant [by conscientious obedience];

“If you turn back your foot from [unnecessary travel on] the Sabbath,From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,And call the Sabbath a [spiritual] delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable,And honor it, not going your own wayOr engaging in your own pleasureOr speaking your own [idle] words,

“And it shall be that from New Moon to New MoonAnd from Sabbath to Sabbath,All mankind will come to bow down and worship before Me,” says the Lord.

Thus says the Lord, “Pay attention for your own good, [and for the sake of your future] do not carry any load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem.

You shall not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy [by setting it apart as a day of worship], as I commanded your fathers.

But it will come about, if you listen diligently to Me,” says the Lord, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it,

But if you will not listen to Me and keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load as you come in the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in her gates that cannot be extinguished, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”’”

‘Thus says the Lord God, “The gate of the inner courtyard that faces east shall be shut during the six working days, but it shall be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon.

The burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.

When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings voluntarily to the Lord, the gate that faces east shall be opened for him, and he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.

saying,“When will the New Moon [festival] be overSo that we may sell grain,And the Sabbath ended so that we may open the wheat market,Making the ephah [measure] smaller and the shekel bigger [that is, selling less for a higher price]And to cheat by falsifying the scales,

At that particular time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.

But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break [the sanctity of] the Sabbath and yet are innocent?

For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

A man was there whose hand was withered. And they asked Jesus, “Is it lawful and permissible to heal on the Sabbath?”—they asked this so that they might accuse Him and bring charges into court.

But He said to them, “What man is there among you who, if he has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?

How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful and permissible to do good on the Sabbath.”

Pray that your flight [from persecution and suffering] will not be in winter, or on a Sabbath [when Jewish laws prohibit travel].

The next day, that is, the day after the [day of] preparation [for the Sabbath], the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate,

Now after the Sabbath, near dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.

One Sabbath He was walking along [with His disciples] through the grainfields, and as they went along, His disciples began picking the heads of grain.

The Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath [and He has authority over it].”

The Pharisees were watching Jesus closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him [in the Jewish high court].

He asked them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many who listened to Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things [this knowledge and spiritual insight]? What is this wisdom [this confident understanding of the Scripture] that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?

When evening had already come, because it was the preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome purchased [sweet-smelling] spices, so that they might go and anoint Him.

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

Then He came down [from the hills of Nazareth] to Capernaum, a city of Galilee [on the shore of the sea], and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

While the sun was setting [marking the end of the Sabbath day], all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Jesus; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them [exhibiting His authority as Messiah].

One Sabbath while Jesus was passing through fields of standing grain, it happened that His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.

But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

Jesus was saying to them, “The Son of Man (the Messiah) is Lord [even] of the Sabbath.”

On another Sabbath He went into the synagogue and taught, and a man was present whose right hand was withered.

The scribes and the Pharisees were watching Him closely [with malicious intent], to see if He would [actually] heal [someone] on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him.

Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you directly: Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it?”

Now Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, “There are six days in which work ought to be done; so come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”

But the Lord replied to him, “You hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders)! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it?

And this woman, a daughter (descendant) of Abraham whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”

It happened one Sabbath, when He went for a meal at the house of one of the ruling Pharisees, that they were watching Him closely and carefully [hoping to entrap Him].

And Jesus asked the lawyers and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”

Then He said to them, “Which one of you, having a son or an ox that falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”

It was the day of preparation [for the Sabbath], and the Sabbath was dawning.

Then they went back and prepared spices and ointments and sweet-smelling herbs.And on the Sabbath they rested in accordance with the commandment [forbidding work].

Immediately the man was healed and recovered his strength, and picked up his pallet and walked.Now that day was the Sabbath.