Exodus 34:21

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

Six days, shalt thou labour, but on the seventh day, shalt thou rest, - in plowing time and in harvest, shalt thou rest.

Parallel Translations

Geneva Bible (1587)
Six dayes shalt thou worke, and in the seuenth day thou shalt rest: both in earing time, and in the haruest thou shalt rest.

George Lamsa Translation
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in the time of ploughing and during harvest you shall rest.

Hebrew Names Version
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

Easy-to-Read Version
"You will work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest. You must rest even during the times of planting and harvesting.

English Standard Version
"Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

American Standard Version
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Bible in Basic English
Six days let work be done, but on the seventh day take your rest: at ploughing time and at the grain-cutting you are to have a day for rest.

Contemporary English Version
Do your work in six days and rest on the seventh day, even during the seasons for plowing and harvesting.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Six days you will work, but on the seventh day you are to rest — even in plowing time and harvest season you are to rest.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

King James Version (1611)
Sixe dayes thou shalt worke, but on the seuenth day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in haruest thou shalt rest.

Amplified Bible
"You shall work for six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; [even] in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest [on the Sabbath].

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: there shall be rest in seed-time and harvest.

English Revised Version
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in plowing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Berean Standard Bible
Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.

Lexham English Bible
Six days you will work, and on the seventh day you will rest; in the time of plowing and in the time of harvest you will rest.

Literal Translation
You may work six days, and on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

New Century Version
"You must work for six days, but on the seventh day you must rest—even during the planting season and the harvest season.

New English Translation
"On six days you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest; even at the time of plowing and of harvest you are to rest.

New King James Version
"Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

New Living Translation
"You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but on the seventh day you must stop working, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest.

New Life Bible
"Work six days, but rest on the seventh day. Rest even during plowing time and gathering time.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Six days shalt thou work, the seventh day thou shalt cease to plough and to reap.

Revised Standard Version
"Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

Good News Translation
"You have six days in which to do your work, but do not work on the seventh day, not even during plowing time or harvest.

King James Version
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Darby Translation
—Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest; in ploughing time and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sixe daies thou schalt worche, the seuenthe day thou schalt ceesse to ere and repe.

Young's Literal Translation
`Six days thou dost work, and on the seventh day thou dost rest; in ploughing-time and in harvest thou dost rest.

World English Bible
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

Update Bible Version
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest: in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

Webster's Bible Translation
Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in time of plowing and in harvest thou shalt rest.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Sixe dayes thou shalt worke, and in the seuenth day thou shalt rest, both from earyng and reapyng.

Christian Standard Bible®
“You are to labor six days but you must rest on the seventh day; you must even rest during plowing and harvesting times.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Sixe dayes shalt thou labor, vpon ye seueth daye shalt thou rest both from plowinge and reapynge.

THE MESSAGE
"Work six days and rest the seventh. Stop working even during plowing and harvesting.

New American Standard Bible
"You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.

New Revised Standard
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in plowing time and in harvest time you shall rest.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.

Legacy Standard Bible
"You shall work six days, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during plowing time and harvest you shall rest.

Contextual Overview

¹⁸ The festival of unleavened cakes, shalt thou keep, seven days, shalt thou eat unleavened cakes, which I commanded thee, at the set time, in the month Abib, - for in the month Abib, camest thou forth out of Egypt. ¹⁹ Every one that is the first to be born, is mine, - and every one of thy cattle that is born a male, firstling of oxen or sheep. ²⁰ But the firstling of an ass, thou mayst redeem with a lamb, and if thou wilt not redeem it, then shalt thou break its neck. Every firstborn of thy sons, shalt thou redeem, and he must not see my face, with empty hand. ²¹ Six days, shalt thou labour, but on the seventh day, shalt thou rest, - in plowing time and in harvest, shalt thou rest. ²² And the festival of weeks, shalt thou make to thee, the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, - and the festival of ingathering, at the closing in of the year: ²³ three times in the year, shall every one of thy males see the face of the Lord Yahweh the God of Israel. ²⁴ For I will root out nations from before thee, and will enlarge thy borders, - and no man shall covet thy land, when thou goes up to see the face of Yahweh thy God, three times in the year. ²⁵ Thou shalt not slay, along with anything leavened, the blood of my sacrifice, - neither shall remain to the morning, the sacrifice of the festival of the passover. ²⁶ The beginning of the firstfruits of thy ground, shalt thou bring into the house of Yahweh, thy God, Thou shalt not boil a kid, in the milk of its dam. ²⁷ And Yahweh said unto Moses, Write for thyself these words, for according to the tenor of these words, have I solemnized with thee, a covenant, and with Israel.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Six: Exodus 20:9-11, Exodus 23:12, Exodus 35:2, Deuteronomy 5:12-15, Luke 13:14, Luke 23:56

earing: Genesis 45:6, Deuteronomy 21:4, 1 Samuel 8:12, Isaiah 30:24

Reciprocal: Genesis 2:3 - blessed Genesis 8:22 - seedtime Exodus 20:10 - the seventh Exodus 31:15 - Six days Leviticus 23:3 - General Nehemiah 13:15 - treading wine

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Six days shalt thou work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest,.... This is the law of the seventh day sabbath, which is after repeated, to fix it in the minds and memories of the people, see Exodus 20:10 and here it is added, which has not been mentioned before:

in earing and in harvest thou shall rest; that is, in the time of ploughing, and in the time of reaping and gathering in the harvest, which are both very busy seasons; the rest of the sabbath was not to be violated; such sort of works, though they might require haste and expedition, yet the sabbath was not to be broken on account of them: this is the common sense of the law, as it is understood; but Maimonides o gives another sense from their doctors, who say, it is forbidden to plough in the sixth year what cannot be reaped but in the seventh; and so likewise that it is forbidden to reap on the seventh year, that of which profit may be had on the eighth year, and this is founded on what the Scripture says, Exodus 34:21 "in earing", c. and they say, that here ploughing and harvest are not to be understood of the seventh day, because this is included in the general rule, "thou shalt not do any work"--they say, of that which is ploughed, whose reaping or harvest is forbidden, is the ploughing at the evening of the seventh year, and at the going out of the seventh and know this, that the evening of the seventh is the sixth year, and the going out of the seventh is the eighth year, and so Jarchi on the text observes, that some of their Rabbins say, this is to be understood of the ploughing of the seventh year, the seventh year entering, and the harvest of the seventh year, at the going out of it; so that as there is a seventh day of rest, there is a year in which ploughing and harvest are forbidden; but there are others, he says, who say the text speaks only of the sabbath.

o In Misn. Sheviith, c. 14. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The precepts contained in these verses are, for the most part, identical in substance with some of those which follow the Ten Commandments and are recorded in “the Book of the covenant” (Exo. 20–23; see Exodus 24:7).

Exodus 34:13

Cut down their groves - This is the first reference to what is commonly known as grove-worship. The original word for “grove” in this connection אשׁרה 'ăshêrāh is different from that so rendered in Genesis 21:33. Our translators supposed that what the law commands is the destruction of groves dedicated to the worship of false deities Judges 6:25; 2 Kings 18:4; but inasmuch as the worship of asherah is found associated with that of Astarte, or Ashtoreth Judges 2:13; Jdg 10:6; 1 Samuel 7:4, it seems probable that while Astarte was the personal name of the goddess, the asherah was a symbol of her, probably in some one of her characters, made in wood in some conventional form.

Exodus 34:15-16

An expansion of Exodus 34:12. The unfaithfulness of the nation to its covenant with Yahweh is here for the first time spoken of as a breach of the marriage bond. The metaphor is, in any case, a natural one, but it seems to gain point, if we suppose it to convey an allusion to the abominations connected with pagan worship, such as are spoken of in Numbers 25:1-3.

Exodus 34:21

See Exodus 20:9; Exodus 23:12. There is here added to the commandment a particular caution respecting those times of year when the land calls for most labor. The old verb “to ear” (i. e. to plow) is genuine English.

Exodus 34:24

Neither shall any man desire etc. - Intended to encourage such as might fear the consequences of obeying the divine law in attending to their religious duties. Compare Proverbs 16:7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 34:21. In earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. — This commandment is worthy of especial note; many break the Sabbath on the pretense of absolute necessity, because, if in harvest time the weather happens to be what is called bad, and the Sabbath day be fair and fine, they judge it perfectly lawful to employ that day in endeavouring to save the fruits of the field, and think that the goodness of the day beyond the preceding, is an indication from Providence that it should be thus employed. But is not the above command pointed directly against this? I have known this law often broken on this pretence, and have never been able to discover a single instance where the persons who acted thus succeeded one whit better than their more conscientious neighbors, who availed themselves of no such favourable circumstances, being determined to keep God's law, even to the prejudice of their secular interests; but no man ever yet ultimately suffered loss by a conscientious attachment to his duty to God. He who is willing and obedient, shall eat the good of the land; but God will ever distinguish those in his providence who respect his commandments.