Exodus 20:8
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Context
Within the Ten Commandments at Sinai, God calls Israel to observe a weekly day of rest set apart to Him.
What Does Exodus 20:8 Mean?
This verse means that God calls His people to set apart a regular day for rest and worship, keeping it distinct from ordinary time. The fourth commandment begins with a gentle word -- "remember" -- as if the Sabbath were a gift easily forgotten in the rush of life. To "keep it holy" is to treat the day as set apart, belonging in a special way to God rather than to labor and ordinary concerns.
The command to remember points both backward and forward: backward to God's own pattern of resting after creation, and forward into a weekly rhythm meant to shape the whole life of the community. The Sabbath was a mercy as much as a duty, freeing a people who had known the relentless toil of slavery to rest and to turn their attention to their Maker. Keeping a day holy declares that human worth is not measured only by productivity, and that life is meant to be punctuated by rest in God's presence. To remember the Sabbath is to remember that we belong to Him.
In the Original Language
The word "sabbath" is the Hebrew shabbat, from a root meaning to cease or rest; "keep it holy" uses qadash, to consecrate.
Cross References
“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.”
- Genesis 2:3
“And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt... therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.”
- Deuteronomy 5:15
“And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.”
- Mark 2:27
Application
Build a rhythm of rest and worship into your week, setting time apart to turn from labor and toward God.