¹⁹ When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath,^(A) I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day.

³² It is a day of sabbath rest^(A) for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”^(B)

¹⁴ “‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death;^(A) those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. ¹⁵ For six days work^(B) is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest,^(C) holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. ¹⁶ The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath,^(D) celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. ¹⁷ It will be a sign^(E) between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.^(F)’”^(G)

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

¹⁹ This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,^[a] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.^{(A) 20} Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem^(B) who come through these gates.^{(C) 21} This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath^(D) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. ²² Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.^(E)

³ I said to them, “The gates of Jerusalem are not to be opened until the sun is hot. While the gatekeepers are still on duty, have them shut the doors and bar them. Also appoint residents of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some near their own houses.”

²² “‘When you reap the harvest^(A) of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.^(B) Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you.^(C) I am the Lord your God.’”