Exodus 31:17

Rest and sabbath Creation Covenant and promises

¹⁵ For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death.

¹⁶ The Israelites must keep the Sabbath, celebrating it as a permanent covenant for the generations to come.

It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

¹⁸ When the LORD had finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”
KJV: It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
WEB: It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.’”
ASV: It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
DARBY: It shall be a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever; for [in] six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
BLB: It [is] a sign between Me and between the sons of Israel forever; for [in] six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

ÅB: Den skal være et evig tegn mellom meg og Israels barn; for i seks dager gjorde Herren himmelen og jorden, og på den syvende dag hvilte han og holdt seg i ro.
OTB: Det er et tegn mellom meg og israelittene for alltid, for på seks dager skapte Herren himmelen og jorden, og på den syvende dagen hvilte han fra sitt arbeid og ble forfrisket.'"
B1930: Den skal være et evig tegn mellem mig og Israels barn; for i seks dager gjorde Herren himmelen og jorden, og på den syvende dag hvilte han og holdt sig i ro.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Exodus 31:13
“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
Read in context
Genesis 1:31
And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
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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.
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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.
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Hebrews 4:10
For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His.
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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.’
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Hebrews 4:3–4
Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said: “So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world.
Read in context
Jeremiah 32:41
Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.
Read in context