Pentecost Season · Proper 4 · Year B
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
The Ten Commandments
May 30, 2027
Overview & Insights
“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.” (Deuteronomy 5:12)
The Decalogue · Here opens Moses’ second discourse (chs. 5–26), the central section of the whole book. It is subdivided into two main parts. Chapters 5–11 are a broad exhortation to covenant loyalty and obedience, following up and amplifying the theocratic and covenantal challenge set forth in chapter 4. Chapters 12–26, with their subheading in 12:1, are more detailed legislation, much of which renews, expands, and sometimes modifies laws already given in more basic form in the Book of the Covenant (Exod. 21–23). Chapters 5–11 are concerned with orientation, ethos, commitment, and loyalty and not initially with the specific legal details. Deuteronomy recognizes that law in itself is not enough for a wholesome society. There is a need for a fundamental, collective choice to do the will of God out of gratitude and covenant loyalty.
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Commentary
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 Working Preacher
A Luther Seminary commentary showing how Deuteronomy roots Sabbath in liberation from Egypt and turns rest into a matter of social justice for all.
Deuteronomy 5 Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse-by-verse evangelical commentary on the restatement of the Ten Commandments, including the Sabbath charge.
Deuteronomy 5 verse by verse Precept Austin
A deep study page compiling Hebrew word studies, cross-references, and many expositors on the chapter.
Classic commentaries on Deuteronomy 5:12 BibleHub
A classic aggregator collecting historic verse-by-verse commentary on the Sabbath commandment.
Deuteronomy 5, Homiletical Commentary StudyLight
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary offering exposition and sermon outlines on the chapter.
Background & Word Study
Deuteronomy 5:12-15 – Sabbath Enter the Bible
A Luther Seminary passage study on how Deuteronomy's Sabbath differs from Exodus by grounding rest in the exodus from Egypt.
Deuteronomy 5 in Hebrew, with Jewish commentary Sefaria
The Hebrew text with English translation and linked Jewish commentary for word-level study of the commandment.
Deuteronomy 5:12 interlinear BibleHub
The Hebrew text word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers for close study of the passage.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
Why does Deuteronomy repeat the commandments?
Moses restates the Ten Commandments to the new generation before they enter the land, grounding the Sabbath in the memory that they were slaves in Egypt whom God redeemed.
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