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Deuteronomy

About this book
Chapter 5

1 Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them: “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them! 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 He did not make this covenant with our ancestors but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now.⁠ 4 The Lord spoke face to face with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire.⁠ 5 (I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal the Lord’s message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said: 6 “I am the Lord your God—he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery. 7 “You must not have any other gods besides me.⁠ 8 “You must not make for yourself an image of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath.⁠ 9 You must not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject me,⁠ 10 but I show covenant faithfulness to the thousands who choose me and keep my commandments. 11 “You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes, for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way. 12 “Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the resident foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest.⁠ 15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.⁠ 16 “Honor your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he is about to give you.⁠ 17 “You must not murder. 18 “You must not commit adultery. 19 “You must not steal. 20 “You must not offer false testimony against another.⁠ 21 You must not desire another man’s wife, nor should you crave his house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.”⁠ 22 The Lord said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said. Then he inscribed the words on two stone tablets and gave them to me. 23 Then, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was ablaze, all your tribal leaders and elders approached me. 24 You said, “The Lord our God has shown us his great glory, and we have heard him speak from the middle of the fire. It is now clear to us that God can speak to human beings and they can keep on living. 25 But now, why should we die, because this intense fire will consume us? If we keep hearing the voice of the Lord our God we will die! 26 Who is there from the entire human race who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the middle of the fire as we have, and has lived? 27 You go near so that you can hear everything the Lord our God is saying and then you can tell us whatever he says to you; then we will pay attention and do it.” 28 When the Lord heard you speaking to me, he said to me, “I have heard what these people have said to you—they have spoken well. 29 If only it would really be their desire to fear me and obey all my commandments⁠ in the future, so that it may go well with them and their descendants forever. 30 Go and tell them, ‘Return to your tents!’ 31 But as for you, remain here with me so I can declare to you all the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that you are to teach them, so that they can carry them out in the land I am about to give them.” 32 Be careful, therefore, to do exactly what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn right or left!⁠ 33 Walk just as he has commanded you so that you may live, that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land you are going to possess.

Texts in conversation

Compare Deuteronomy 5:14 and Jeremiah 17:21

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Jeremiah repeats the Sabbath command from Deuteronomy, connecting it to covenant loyalty. Jeremiah adapts this for his community in exile, warning that neglecting Sabbath observance shows misplaced priorities and threatens renewed judgment.

Passages

Deuteronomy 5:14

Hebrew Bible
12 “Be careful to observe the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the resident foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. 15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. 16 “Honor your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he is about to give you.
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Deuteronomy

Jeremiah 17:21

Hebrew Bible
19 The Lord told me, “Go and stand in the People’s Gate through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem. 20 And then announce to them, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah, and everyone from Judah, and all you citizens of Jerusalem, those who pass through these gates. 21 The Lord says, Be very careful if you value your lives! Do not carry any loads in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 22 Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day. But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, as I commanded your ancestors. 23 Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’
500–401 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jeremiah

References

"... Deuteronomy 5:12-15 and Jeremiah 17:21-24 ... One of the aspects of covenant concerns concerning the Sabbath was to make the Israelites adhere to their God as a sign of their fidelity. If the new Israelites were to disregard the Sabbath as their fathers disobeyed God, there would be further captivity. Similarly, Huey, Jr. says the people were warned to prepare well for the weekly worship. This law contains most elements of the other laws to enable them serve their God, including for instance, buying and selling on the Sabbath, which appear in the pre-exilic prophecy of Amos 8:5. It is against this background that Lundbom alleged this is among the easiest laws to keep, since it requires just observing the day’s celebration and resting. Here Jeremiah was only concerned with how they prioritise their daily business over God’s business. It looks as though the rich who want to do business did not like this idea as opposed to the poor, who like to rest from daily work. Moreover, Longman III affirms that God challenged his people through his prophet, pointing to them to remember how good and loving he has been. Their Kings, Priests, Levites, scribes and the rest of the people ought to be sure that everyone obey by keeping the Sabbath. The theme of the Sabbath appeared in almost every section of the Scripture, these are just few that were highlighted. There appears to be continuity from the oral texture used to teach younger people by recitation. This text is among the most recited in other part of the Old Testament, at some point it is re-contextualized in a new setting and at another place it is reconfigured to fit the context. Most of all, the narrative is amplified in some occasions concurrently with elaboration of themes. There are other themes in the Decalogue, which appear in the concluding section of the text. They are cultic and social responsibilities related to YHWH, Israel and their community (verses 16-21). These are criteria used in the society to correlate texts which raise social issues that relate to its ancient context ..."
Zachariah Bulus Takore, "Sin of the Fathers upon the Children to the Third and Fourth Generation": An Appraisal of Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 5:9 in Relation to an African Theological Understanding of Original Sin (Stellenbosch University, 2017), 98–99.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Deuteronomy 5:14 and Jeremiah 17:21

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