Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy: the verb Observe (Exo 20.8 has “Remember”) means “Take care,” “Be careful,” or “Make sure” (see the same verb in 4.9, 15). Bible en français courant has “Take care to consecrate to me…”; other possibilities are “Make sure that you treat the Sabbath as a holy day” or “Make sure that you treat the day of rest as belonging [or, dedicated] to me.”

Sabbath is a word that in some places will have to be carefully translated so as to avoid misunderstandings. Most modern translations use the traditional word for “Sabbath”; Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, however, has “day of rest,” and this may be a more meaningful translation. If, however, a translator transliterates the word sabbath, a footnote and a note in the Glossary should be included.

To keep it holy means to dedicate the day to God. Since God himself had made the seventh day a special day of rest (Gen 2.3; Exo 20.11), Israel was to do the same. Another way to express the first part of this verse is “Keep on observing the day of rest and dedicate it to me.”

As the LORD your God commanded you: this refers back to the original giving of the commandments at Mount Sinai (Exo 20.8).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .