Deuteronomy 5:12–15

In its context

Its words in the original

• שָׁמוֹרshamor· keep, guard

  Keep: watch over, guard, protect; also keep a command or a covenant, observe.

• יוֹםyom· day

  Day: the hours of light, or a whole day from one evening to the next. Also an indefinite time or age ("in the day that...", "in those days").

• שַׁבָּתshabat· Sabbath

  Sabbath: the seventh day, when work stops because it is set apart for God. The word comes from the verb "cease". It can also mean a week, or a sabbatical year (the land's rest).

• קַדְּשׁkadsh· consecrate, be holy

  Set something apart for God, declare it holy; be holy. God set apart the seventh day as a day different from the others.

• צִוְּtsiv· command

  Command, give an order; give charge to someone.

• יְהוָהyehva· YHWH

  The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.

• אֱלֹהֶיelohe· Elohim, God, gods

  The Hebrew word usually translated "God". This translation keeps "Elohim" when it speaks of the one true God, the Creator, the God of Israel. The word ends like a plural, but it does not mean several: for him the verb is singular ("Elohim created"); the plural form expresses greatness. The same word as a common noun names the "gods" of other peoples, and there it is a true plural, translated "gods". It is also used of mighty ones or judges.

• שֵׁשֶׁתsheshet· six

  Six; also "sixth".

• תַּעֲבֹדtaavod· work, serve

  Work; serve. Till the ground, serve a person, or serve God (worship him). In the causative form, make someone serve, enslave.

• עָשִׂיתָasita· do, make

  Do, make, in the widest sense: build, produce, carry out, keep (a command), prepare.

• מְלַאכְתֶּmelachte· work

  Work: the task someone carries out and also what results from it; also property, goods.

• שְּׁבִיעִיshevii· seventh

  Seventh.

• בִנְvin· son

  Son. In the plural it can include sons and daughters, and also grandsons and descendants. "Son of..." also says what group someone belongs to ("sons of Israel" = Israelites).

• בִתֶּvite· daughter

  Daughter; also granddaughter. In the plural, also the women of a people or place ("daughters of Canaan"); "daughter of Zion" stands for a city and its people.

• עַבְדְּavd· slave, servant

  Slave, servant: someone who belongs to another or is in his service. It can be a slave, a worker or a high official of the king; before God, one who serves him. "Your servant" is a polite way to say "I".

• אֲמָתֶamate· female slave, maidservant

  Female slave, maidservant.

• שׁוֹרְshor· ox, bull

  Ox or bull: a head of cattle.

• חֲמֹרְchamor· donkey

  Donkey, male donkey.

• בְּהֶמְתֶּbehemte· livestock, beast

  Four-footed animal, above all livestock and domestic animals; sometimes all animals in contrast with human beings.

• גֵרְger· resident alien

  Foreigner who lives in a land that is not his own, without the rights of those who belong to the place.

• שְׁעָרֶיsheare· gate

  Gate of a city. It was also the open place where the elders met, business was done and disputes were judged.

• יָנוּחַyanuach· rest, settle

  Rest, settle, come to rest, stay still; also set down, leave. Noah's name is from the same root.

• זָכַרְתָּzacharta· remember

  Remember, call to mind; also mention. When God "remembers" someone, it is not that he had forgotten: it means he acts in his favor.

• הָיִיתָhayita· be, become, happen

  Be, exist; also "become" or "happen". It is the verb of "there was", "it was" and "it came to pass".

• אֶרֶץerets· earth, land

  The earth, in two senses: the whole world in contrast with the heavens, or a particular country or region ("the land of Egypt").

• מִצְרַיִםmitsrayim· Egypt, Mizraim

  Mizraim, the Hebrew name of Egypt; also the Egyptians. As a person, a son of Ham, ancestor of the Egyptians.

• יֹּצִאֲyotsia· go out, bring out

  Go out, come out. In the causative form, "make go out", "bring out", "lead out", "produce".

• יָדyad· hand, power

  Hand. Figuratively, power or control ("into the hand of" = into the power of); also side, part, or share. Also a projecting piece, such as a tenon.

• חֲזָקָהchazaka· strong, hard

  Strong, mighty ("a strong hand"); also hard, stubborn ("hard of heart").

• זְרֹעַzeroa· arm

  Arm; an image of strength.

• נְטוּיָהnetuya· stretch out, turn aside

  Stretch out, spread; pitch a tent. Also bend, incline; turn aside, pervert (justice).