Exodus 31:12-18

The Voice

Eternal One: ¹³ Speak to the Israelites and tell them, “You must be careful to observe My Sabbaths. For the Sabbath Day serves as a sign between Me and you for all generations, so that you will know I am the Eternal One who has set you apart from all the other nations. ¹⁴ Keep the Sabbath because it is a sacred day for you, different from all other days. Anyone who violates the Sabbath or defiles it must be executed; anyone who works on the Sabbath will be cut off from the community. ¹⁵ You have six days out of every week to do whatever work is needed, but the seventh day is the Sabbath, a day set aside for rest and only rest. It is sacred to Me. Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be executed. ¹⁶ Therefore, the Israelites are to keep the Sabbath and celebrate it throughout all their generations as an everlasting covenant. ¹⁷ The Sabbath exists as a sign forever of the covenant between Me and the people of Israel for I made heaven and earth in six days, but then on the seventh day I stopped My work and was refreshed.”