A Brighter Day Begins with His Word.

BIBLE QUESTION DOSSIER

Are Christians required to keep the Sabbath?

Short answer

The Sabbath command is central to Israel’s covenant life, and Jesus honors its purpose while challenging distorted applications. The New Testament also contains texts in which particular days are treated with liberty. Christians disagree over whether the fourth commandment continues as a required weekly Sabbath and, if so, whether Sunday functions as the Christian Sabbath.

This question involves creation, Sinai, Jesus’ teaching, the resurrection-day gatherings of Christians, and Paul’s instruction about disputed days.

1. What do the English translations actually say?

The five translations below are stored locally on Born Again Daily, so you can see the wording before anyone tells you what to think about it.

Exodus 20:8-11

The Sabbath command in the Decalogue.

KJV

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God: [in it] thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that [is] within thy gates: 11 For [in] six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them [is], and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

BSB

8 Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

WEB

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 You shall labor six days, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; 11 for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.

ASV

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

YLT

8 ‘Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it; 9 six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, 10 and the seventh day is a Sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates,— 11 for six days hath Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and resteth in the seventh day; therefore hath Jehovah blessed the Sabbath-day, and doth sanctify it.

Mark 2:27-28

Jesus says the Sabbath was made for man and calls himself Lord of the Sabbath.

KJV

27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

BSB

27 Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

WEB

27 He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

ASV

27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: 28 so that the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath.

YLT

27 And he said to them, ‘The sabbath for man was made, not man for the sabbath, 28 so that the son of man is lord also of the sabbath.’

Romans 14:5-6

Paul permits differing convictions about the observance of days.

KJV

5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth [it] unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard [it]. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

BSB

5 One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

WEB

5 One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn’t eat, to the Lord he doesn’t eat, and gives God thanks.

ASV

5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. 6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that eateth, eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

YLT

5 One doth judge one day above another, and another doth judge every day alike; let each in his own mind be fully assured. 6 He who is regarding the day, to the Lord he doth regard it, and he who is not regarding the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He who is eating, to the Lord he doth eat, for he doth give thanks to God; and he who is not eating, to the Lord he doth not eat, and doth give thanks to God.

Colossians 2:16-17

Paul warns against judgment over festival, new moon or Sabbath observance.

KJV

16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]: 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.

BSB

16 Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.

WEB

16 Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, 17 which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.

ASV

16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: 17 which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.

YLT

16 Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of the coming things, and the body is of the Christ;

Acts 20:7

A first-day gathering to break bread.

KJV

And upon the first [day] of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

BSB

On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Since Paul was ready to leave the next day, he talked to them and kept on speaking until midnight.

WEB

On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and continued his speech until midnight.

ASV

And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.

YLT

And on the first of the week, the disciples having been gathered together to break bread, Paul was discoursing to them, about to depart on the morrow, he was also continuing the discourse till midnight,

2. What do the Hebrew and Greek words say?

Important: a lexicon gives a word’s possible senses and usage; it does not magically choose the correct sense without context. “The true meaning” of a biblical word is the meaning it carries in its actual sentence and historical usage.

שַׁבָּת (shabbat)

Sabbath/rest day in the Hebrew Bible.

H7676 • שַׁבָּתshab.bat — Sabbath

Sabbath 1a) sabbath 1b) day of atonement 1c) sabbath year 1d) week 1e) produce (in sabbath year)

σάββατον (sabbaton)

Greek Sabbath, borrowed from the Semitic term.

G4521 • σάββατονsabbaton — Sabbath

σάββατον, -ου, τό (Aram. שַׁבָּתָא, transliterated σάββατα, and this being mistaken for a pl., the sing. σάββατον was formed from it), and σάββατα, -ων, τά [in LXX for שַׁבָּת, שַׁבָּתוֹן ;] 1. the seventh day of the week, the sabbath (a) the sing. form -ον, τὸ σ.: Mat.12:8, Mrk.2:27, Luk.6:5, al.; ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ σ. (in LXX, Exo.20:8, al., usually τῶν σ., see infr.), Luk.13:16 14:5; ὁδὸς σαββάτου, Act.1:12 (cf. Mat.24:29); dative, of time (τῷ) σ., Luk.6:9 14:1; ἐν (τῷ) σ., Mat.12:2, Luk.6:7, Jhn.5:16, al.; accusative, of duration, τὸ σ., Luk.23:56; κατὰ πᾶν σ., Act.13:27 15:21 18:4; pl., σ. τρία, Act.17:2 R, txt. (but see infr.); (b) as most frequently in LXX (see Swete, Mk., 17; Thackeray, Gr., 35) the pl. form, τὰ σ. (see supr. on the Aram. form. There is also an analogy in the names of other festivals, τ. ἐγκαίνια, ἄζυμα, etc.): Mat.28:1, Col.2:16; ἡ ἡμέρα τῶν σ. (Exo.20:8, al.), Luk.4:16, Act.13:14 16:13; dative pl. (in LXX -τοις, but 1Ma.2:38 as in NT) by metaplasmus (El., § 9, 3), σάββασι, Mat.12:1, 5 12:10-12 Mrk.1:21 2:23 3:2, 4, Luk.4:31 6:2. 2. seven days, a week; (a) the sing. form: πρώτη σαββάτσυ, Mrk.16:9; δὶς τοῦ σ. (Bl., § 35, 4; 36, 13), Luk.18:12; κατὰ μίαν σαββάτου, 1Co.16:2; pl., σ. τρία, Act.17:2 R, mg. (but see supr.); (b) the pl. form: ἡ μία τῶν σ. (where the genitive = μετὰ τά; Soph., Lex., 43a), Mat.28:1, Mrk.16:2, Luk.24:1, Jhn.20:1, 19, Act.20:7 (AS)

σαββατισμός (sabbatismos)

Sabbath rest/observance; used in Hebrews 4:9.

G4520 • σαββατισμόςsabbatismos — Sabbath rest

σαββατισμός, -οῦ, ὁ (σαββατίζω, to keep the sabbath, Exo.16:30, al.), a keeping sabbath, a sabbath rest: metaphorically, as in Mishna (Zorell, see word), Heb.4:9.† (AS)

3. Where interpretation begins

Seventh-day observance

Seventh-day traditions hold that the fourth commandment remains binding and that the biblical Sabbath is Saturday.

Christian Sabbath / Lord’s Day

Reformed and some other traditions understand the moral Sabbath principle as continuing with first-day observance in light of the resurrection.

No binding sacred day

Many evangelicals understand Sabbath laws as fulfilled in Christ and treat weekly worship as vital without imposing the Mosaic Sabbath command on Christians.

4. A careful conclusion

The New Testament does not contain a single sentence saying “the Sabbath has been moved to Sunday.” The Christian debate turns on covenant continuity, fulfillment in Christ, apostolic worship patterns and how Romans 14/Colossians 2 relate to the fourth commandment.

Further study

Compare historical commentaries on Exodus 20:8-11 →

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