Leviticus 16:31
For it is a sabbath of rest, and you shall afflict your souls by a perpetual religion.
Open Leviticus 16:31 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Sabbatum enim requietionis est, et affligetis animas vestras religione perpetua.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- σάββατα σαββάτων ἀνάπαυσις αὕτη ἔσται ὑμῖν, καὶ ταπεινώσετε τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν· νόμιμον αἰώνιον.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- שַׁבַּ֨ת שַׁבָּת֥וֹן הִיא֙ לָכֶ֔ם וְעִנִּיתֶ֖ם אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶ֑ם חֻקַּ֖ת עוֹלָֽם
Haydock's commentary
Of rest. Hebrew, "of sabbaths;" that is, a day of most perfect rest; so that even meat is not allowed to be dressed on it, as it is on other festivals, chap. xxiii. 27. (Calmet)
Religion. Fasting is therefore an act of religion. (Du Hamel)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St John Damascene An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Against the Jews on the question of the Sabbath
So far, indeed, as I in my ignorance know, to begin with inferior and more dense things, God, knowing the denseness of the Israelites and their carnal love and propensity towards matter in everything, made this law: first, in order that the servant and the cattle should rest as it is written, for the righteous man regardeth the life of his beast : next, in order that when they take their ease from the distraction of material things, they may gather together unto God, spending the whole of the seventh day in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and the study of the divine Scriptures and resting in God. For when the law did not exist and there was no divinely-inspired Scripture, the Sabbath was not consecrated to God. …