Exodus 20:8
New International Version
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

New Living Translation
“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

English Standard Version
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Berean Standard Bible
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

King James Bible
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

New King James Version
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

New American Standard Bible
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

NASB 1995
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

NASB 1977
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

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

Christian Standard Bible
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy:

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy:

American Standard Version
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Contemporary English Version
Remember that the Sabbath Day belongs to me.

English Revised Version
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Remember the day of worship by observing it as a holy day.

Good News Translation
"Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy.

International Standard Version
"Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy.

Majority Standard Bible
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

NET Bible
"Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy.

New Heart English Bible
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Webster's Bible Translation
Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy.

World English Bible
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it;

Young's Literal Translation
'Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it;

Smith's Literal Translation
Remember the day of the Sabbath to consecrate it.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Remember that you are to sanctify the day of the Sabbath.

New American Bible
Remember the sabbath day—keep it holy.

New Revised Standard Version
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Remember the day of the Sabbath for its holiness.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Ten Commandments
7You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain. 8Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work,…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. / Six days you shall labor and do all your work, / 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. ...

Genesis 2:2-3
And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. / Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished.

Leviticus 23:3
For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.

Nehemiah 13:15-22
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. / Additionally, men of Tyre who lived there were importing fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah in Jerusalem. / Then I rebuked the nobles of Judah and asked, “What is this evil you are doing—profaning the Sabbath day? ...

Isaiah 58:13-14
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, / then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

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 20:20
Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’

Jeremiah 17:21-27
This is what the LORD says: Take heed for yourselves; do not carry a load or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. / You must not carry a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day, but you must keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I commanded your forefathers. / Yet they would not listen or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and would not listen or receive My discipline. ...

Matthew 12:8
For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:27-28
Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. / Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Luke 6:5
Then Jesus declared, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Hebrews 4:9-10
There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. / For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.

Colossians 2:16-17
Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. / These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.

Acts 20:7
On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Since Paul was ready to leave the next day, he talked to them and kept on speaking until midnight.

Romans 14:5
One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.


Treasury of Scripture

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Exodus 16:23-30
And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning…

Exodus 31:13,14
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you…

Genesis 2:3
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

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Exodus 20
1. The ten commandments are spoken by Jehovah
18. The people are afraid, but Moses comforts them
21. Idolatry is forbidden
23. Of what sort the altar should be














Remember
The Hebrew word for "remember" is "זָכוֹר" (zakar), which implies more than just recalling information. It suggests an active, intentional act of keeping something in mind with the purpose of acting upon it. In the context of Exodus 20:8, it is a call to actively observe and honor the Sabbath, not merely to think about it passively. This word sets the tone for the commandment, emphasizing the importance of conscious and deliberate observance.

the Sabbath day
The term "Sabbath" comes from the Hebrew "שַׁבָּת" (Shabbat), meaning "rest" or "cessation." The Sabbath day is rooted in the creation narrative where God rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3). Historically, the Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, a day set apart for rest and spiritual reflection. It served as a reminder of God's creation and His deliverance of Israel from Egypt, symbolizing freedom and divine provision.

by keeping it holy
The phrase "keeping it holy" is derived from the Hebrew "לְקַדְּשׁוֹ" (leqadsho), which means to sanctify or set apart. Holiness in the biblical sense involves separation from the ordinary and dedication to God. The Sabbath is not just a day of rest but a sacred time dedicated to worship and reflection on God's goodness. This sanctification of the Sabbath is a call to align one's life with God's purposes, recognizing His sovereignty and grace. The act of keeping the Sabbath holy is a testament to the believer's commitment to live according to God's design, setting aside worldly concerns to focus on spiritual renewal and community worship.

(8) Remember the sabbath day.--It is pertinent to remark that this command is introduced differently from any other by the word "remember." But we cannot, therefore, conclude that the Sabbath was a primitive institution, which the Israelites were bound to have held in perpetual remembrance, since the reference may be merely to the injunction recently given in connection with the gathering of the manna. (Exodus 16:23). The Sabbath had certainly been at that time solemnly instituted, if no earlier. (See Note on. Exodus 16:25.)

To keep it holy.--It had been already noted that the rest of the Sabbath was to be a "holy rest" (Exodus 16:23); but it is not quite clear what was intended by this. For the most part, the Law insists on abstinence from labour as the main element of Sabbath observance (Exodus 16:23-30; Exodus 20:9-11; Exodus 23:12; Exodus 34:21; Exodus 35:2-3; Deuteronomy 5:12-15, &c.); and it can scarcely be said to prescribe anything positive with respect to the religious employment of the day. That the morning and evening sacrifice were to be doubled might indeed suggest to a religiously-minded Israelite that his�own religious exercises and devotions should also be augmented; but the Law made no such requirement. His attendance at the morning and evening sacrifice was not required nor expected. No provision was made for his receiving religious teaching on the day; no special offerings were required from him upon it. The day became one of "languid bodily ease, relaxation, and luxury" to the bulk of the later Jews (Augustin. Enarr. in Psalms 91); but probably there were always some whom natural piety taught that, in the absence of their ordinary employments, it was intended they should devote themselves to prayer and communion with God--to meditation on "high and holy themes," such as His mercies in past time, His character, attributes, revelations of Himself, government of the world, dealings with men and nations. Thus only could the day be really "kept holy," with a positive, and not a mere negative, holiness. . . .

Verse 8. - Remember the sabbath day. The institution of the sabbath dates, at any rate, from the giving of the manna (Exodus 16:23). Its primeval institution, which has been thought to be implied in Genesis 2:3, is uncertain. The word "remember" here may be simply a reference to what passed in the "wilderness of Sin" as related in Exodus 16:22-30. On the sabbath itself, both Jewish and Christian, see the comment upon that chapter.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Remember
זָכ֛וֹר֩ (zā·ḵō·wr)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute
Strong's 2142: To mark, to remember, to mention, to be male

the Sabbath
הַשַּׁבָּ֖֜ת (haš·šab·bāṯ)
Article | Noun - common singular
Strong's 7676: Intermission, the Sabbath

day
י֥֨וֹם (yō·wm)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3117: A day

by keeping it holy.
לְקַדְּשֽׁ֗וֹ‪‬ (lə·qad·də·šōw)
Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 6942: To be set apart or consecrated


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OT Law: Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it (Exo. Ex)
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