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Deuteronomy 5:12

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 5:12 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee.
Deuteronomy 5:12 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 5

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
9thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I, Jehovah, thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me;
10and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
11Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain: for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
12Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee.
13Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;
14but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou.
15And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm: therefore Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
← Deuteronomy 5:11Deuteronomy 5:13 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee--that is, keep it in mind as a sacred institution of former enactment and perpetual obligation. [See on Exo 20:8].”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“Compare Exodus 20:0 and notes. Moses here adopts the Ten Words as a ground from which he may proceed to reprove, warn, and exhort; and repeats them, with a certain measure of freedom and adaptation. Our Lord Mark 10:19 and Paul Ephesians 6:2-3 deal similarly with the same subject. Speaker and hearers recognized, however, a statutory and authoritative form of the laws in question, which, because it was familiar to both parties, needed not to be reproduced with verbal fidelity. Deuteronomy 5:12-15 The exhortation to observe the Sabbath and allow time of rest to servants (compare Exodus 23:12) is pointed by reminding the people that they too were formerly servants themselves. The bondage in…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“Keep the sabbath - day, to sanctify it - Dost thou do no work on this day, which can be done as well on another? Art thou peculiarly careful on this day, to avoid all conversation, which does not tend to the knowledge and love of God? Dost thou watch narrowly over all that are within thy gates, that they too may keep it holy? And dost thou try every possible means, to bring all men, wherever you are, to do the same? Deuteronomy 5:16”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“5:12 keeping it holy: Certain holy days were set apart from others and were given extraordinary significance. On the Sabbath day, the community stopped working and worshiped the Lord (cp. 1 Cor 16:2; Heb 10:25).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Exo 20:8-11; Isa 56:6, Isa 58:13 Deuteronomy 5:13”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification