Deuteronomy 5:14

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, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, restating the covenant laws before they cross into Canaan. He places the Sabbath directive between the six-day work command and the Exodus remembrance.

The words — The phrase וְיֹום הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת (ve-yom ha-shevi'i shabbat) literally means "and the seventh day [is] a Sabbath." The negative imperative לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה (lo ta'aseh) "you shall not do" functions as a strict prohibition against labor.

The thread — The seventh-day rest pattern originates in Genesis 2:2 and is referenced in Hebrews 4:4 as God’s own cessation from creation work. The practical boundary is established in Exodus 16:29 through the double portion of manna.

Why it lands — The text mandates a total work stoppage for the family, servants, animals, and resident foreigners on the seventh day. It requires readers to treat the Sabbath as a fixed, non-negotiable period of rest and worship.

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

וְי֙וֹם֙ve./Yomand/ [the] day הַשְּׁבִיעִ֜֔יha./she.vi.'I<the>/ seventh שַׁבָּ֖֣ת׀sha.Bat[is] a sabbath לַיהוָ֣֥הla./Yah.wehto/ Yahweh אֱלֹהֶ֑֗יךָ'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your לֹ֣אlo'not תַעֲשֶׂ֣הta.'a.Sehyou must do כָל־khol-any מְלָאכָ֡הme.la.Khahwork אַתָּ֣ה'a.Tahyou וּבִנְךָֽ־u./vin./kha-and/ son/ your וּבִתֶּ֣ךָu./vi.Te./khaand/ daughter/ your וְעַבְדְּךָֽ־ve./'av.de./kha-and/ [male] servant/ your וַ֠אֲמָתֶךָVa./'a.ma.te./khaand/ female servant/ your וְשׁוֹרְךָ֨ve./shor./Khaand/ ox/ your וַחֲמֹֽרְךָ֜va./cha.mo.re./Khaand/ donkey/ your וְכָל־ve./kholand/ all בְּהֶמְתֶּ֗ךָbe.hem.Te./khalivestock/ your וְגֵֽרְךָ֙ve./ge.re./Khaand/ sojourner/ your אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwho בִּשְׁעָרֶ֔יךָbi/sh.'a.Rei./kha[is] in/ gates/ your לְמַ֗עַןle.Ma.'anso that יָנ֛וּחַya.Nu.achhe may rest עַבְדְּךָ֥'av.de./Kha[male] servant/ your וַאֲמָתְךָ֖va./'a.ma.te./Khaand/ female servant/ your כָּמֽ֑וֹךָ׃ka.Mo./khalike/ you

King James Version

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

Cross-references

Hebrews 4:4 For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this manner: “And on the seventh day God rested from all His works.”
Genesis 2:2 And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work.
Exodus 16:29 Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He will give you bread for two days. On the seventh day, everyone must stay where he is; no one may leave his place.”
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.
Nehemiah 5:5 We and our children are just like our countrymen and their children, yet we are subjecting our sons and daughters to slavery. Some of our daughters are already enslaved, but we are powerless to redeem them because our fields and vineyards belong to others.”
Nehemiah 13:21 but I warned them, “Why are you camping in front of the wall? If you do it again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they did not return on the Sabbath.
Leviticus 25:44 Your menservants and maidservants shall come from the nations around you, from whom you may purchase them.
Nehemiah 13:15 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.