Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 5:13
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the second generation of Israelites on the plains of Moab, reiterating the covenant laws before they enter Canaan. He places the Sabbath command within a six-day framework to define the boundary of the seventh day.
The words — The Hebrew תַּעֲבֹד (taʿăḇōḏ) means "you will labor," and מְלַאכְתְּךָ (məlaḵəṯḵā) translates literally to "your work." These terms establish the mandatory scope of human activity permitted before the Sabbath.
The thread — This six-day labor pattern appears in Exodus 23:12 and Exodus 35:2, where the same timeframe precedes the Sabbath rest. Ezekiel 20:12 references the Sabbath as a sign but does not repeat the labor cycle.
Why it lands — The verse requires readers to allocate six days for productive labor before observing the Sabbath. It establishes a clear boundary between work and rest that governs weekly rhythm.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work:
Cross-references
- 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.
- Exodus 23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.
- Exodus 35:2 For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.
- Luke 13:14 But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
- Luke 23:56 Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes. And they rested on the Sabbath, according to the commandment.