Some Bible Translations Remove References to the Sabbath

…a disturbing trend!

There are a variety of Bible translations. Some are older and some are newer. Among the newer translations, there are those that have removed some or many references to the Sabbath. This is a disturbing and dangerous trend.

Translations should be concerned with the original language of the text, not theology. If people are allowed to toy with the original text of the Bible, then where will such changes stop? We have identified some of these translations and provided some examples below.

Translation #1: God’s Word Translation (printed 1995). In the Old Testament, we find the Hebrew word Shabbat translated as “seventh day.” However, in the New Testament, the Greek term sabbaton and other related words are rendered “day of rest.”

Example: Matthew 12:1-8 “12 Then on a day of rest—a holy day, Jesus walked through the grainfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain to eat. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing something that is not right to do on the day of rest—a holy day.” 3 Jesus asked them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? 4 Haven’t you read how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of the presence? He and his men had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right. 5 Or haven’t you read in Moses’ Teachings that on the day of rest—a holy day, the priests in the temple do things they shouldn’t on the day of rest yet remain innocent? 6 I can guarantee that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what ‘I want mercy, not sacrifices’ means, you would not have condemned innocent people. 8 “The Son of Man has authority over the day of rest—a holy day.”

Translation #2: Names of God Bible (printed 2011) – This translation renders the Hebrew word Shabbat in the Old Testament as “seventh day.” This is in the same manner as the previous translation as we discussed. However, in the New Testament, the Greek term sabbaton and other related words are rendered “day of worship.”

Example: Matthew 12:1-8: “1Then on a day of worship Yeshua walked through the grainfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain to eat. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing something that is not right to do on the day of worship.” 3 Yeshua asked them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? 4 Haven’t you read how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of the presence? He and his men had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right. 5 Or haven’t you read in Moses’ Teachings that on the day of worship the priests in the temple do things they shouldn’t on the day of worship yet remain innocent? 6 I can guarantee that something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you had known what ‘I want mercy, not sacrifices’ means, you would not have condemned innocent people. 8 “The Son of Man has authority over the day of worship.”

In this translation, even the title for Psalm 92 has been edited: “A psalm; a song; for the day of worship.” It should actually be rendered: “A Psalm: a Song for the Sabbath.”

In these first two translations, the rendering of the Greek word for Sabbath as “day of rest” or “day of worship” are totally contrary to the original language. Such translations cheapen and diminish the seventh-day Sabbath, which Christ and the earliest believers obeyed. It is mentioned in about 140 Bible verses.

There are three others we will look at:

Translation #3 – The Passion Translation, published in 2017, puts the following title above Psalm 92:1: “A Sunday Morning Song of Praise.” The introduction to Psalm 92 is translated as “a poetic praise song for the day of worship.” Once again, the original Hebrew is “A Song of Praise for the Sabbath.” The Hebrew word Shabbat never means Sunday morning or just simply “the day of worship.”

Translation #4 – The Message Bible, published in 2002, adds the phrase “Sunday morning best” to a passage that has nothing to do with the first day of the week. Isaiah 52:1-2 “Wake up, wake up! Pull on your boots, Zion! Dress up in your Sunday best, Jerusalem, holy city! Those who want no part of God have been culled out. They won’t be coming along. Brush off the dust and get to your feet, captive Jerusalem! Throw off your chains, captive daughter of Zion!” It would never be in the mind of a Jewish prophet to “dress up in your Sunday best.” I am well aware that in many Western countries this is a common saying, but it is not what the original text says.

Translation #5 – The Living Bible (published in 1971) renders the introduction to Psalm 92:1 “A song to sing on the Lord’s Day.” Again, this introduction should be translated as “A song for the Sabbath day.” The phrase “Lord’s Day” is not found in the text.

According to the prophecy of Daniel 7:25, we learn that the “times and the laws” would be changed by the little horn. The Aramaic word translated as times is zeman, and it is the equivalent of the Hebrew word moed. The Hebrew word moed refers to the festivals of Leviticus 23, the first of which is the Sabbath. The Sabbath will be attacked in all times, but especially in a time of mass media where large amounts of information can travel quickly. These attacks began in the second century and continue to the present day.

I definitely encourage you to share the faults of these translations with others so they can be avoided and confusion would not be caused.

Kelly McDonald, Jr.

BSA President – www.biblesabbath.org