Exodus 31:14

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.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — God instructs Moses to command the Israelites to observe the Sabbath as a lasting sign of the covenant between Yahweh and His people.

The words — The Hebrew verb שְׁמַרְתֶּם (shmartem) translates to "you will observe," and קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh) means "a holy thing," defining the day's set-apart status.

The thread — This directive aligns with the Sabbath command in Exodus 20:8 and the work restriction in Exodus 35:2, while Numbers 15:32 documents a man gathering wood on the Sabbath without recording a penalty.

Why it lands — The text explicitly commands Sabbath observance and warns that profaning the day or performing work on it results in execution or being cut off from the community.

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

וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם֙u./she.mar.Temand/ you will observe אֶת־'et-<obj.>הַשַּׁבָּ֔תha./sha.Batthe/ sabbath כִּ֛יkifor קֹ֥דֶשׁKo.desh[is] a holy thing הִ֖ואhi'itלָכֶ֑םla./Khemto/ youמְחַֽלְלֶ֙יהָ֙me.cha.Lei./ha[those who] profane/ it מ֣וֹתMotcertainly <to die>יוּמָ֔תyu.Mathe will be put to death כִּ֗יKifor כָּל־kol-every הָעֹשֶׂ֥הha./'o.Seh<the>/ [one who] doesבָהּ֙va/hon/ itמְלָאכָ֔הme.la.Khahwork וְנִכְרְתָ֛הve./nikh.re.Tahand/ it will be cut off הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁha./Ne.feshthe/ person הַהִ֖ואha./Hiv'<the>/ that מִקֶּ֥רֶבmi./Ke.revfrom/ [the] midst of עַמֶּֽיהָ׃'a.Mei./hakinspeople<s>/ its

King James Version

Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

Cross-references

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.
Numbers 15:32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Deuteronomy 5:12 Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
Nehemiah 9:14 You revealed to them Your holy Sabbath and gave them commandments and statutes and laws through Your servant Moses.
Isaiah 56:2 Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
Isaiah 58:13 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,
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 20:16 because they kept rejecting My ordinances, refusing to walk in My statutes, and profaning My Sabbaths; for their hearts continually went after their idols.
Ezekiel 20:21 But the children rebelled against Me. They did not walk in My statutes or carefully observe My ordinances—though the man who does these things will live by them—and they profaned My Sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath upon them and vent My anger against them in the wilderness.