Jeremias 17:21

21 thus saith the Lord; Take heed to your souls, and take up no burdens on the sabbath-day, and go not forth the gates of Jerusalem;

Jeremias 17:21 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 17:21

Thus saith the Lord, take heed to yourselves
That ye sin not against the Lord, by breaking the sabbath, and so bring wrath and ruin upon yourselves: or "to your souls" ^F1; to the inward frame of them, that they be in disposition for the work of that day; and that they be wholly engaged therein, even all the powers and faculties of them; and that they be not taken up in thoughts and cares about other things: and bear no burden on the sabbath day;
as no worldly thoughts and cares should, cumber the mind, and lie heavy thereon, to the interruption of spiritual exercises of religion; so neither should any weight or burden be borne by the body, or carried from place to place; as not by themselves, so neither by their servants, nor by their cattle, nor in carts and wagons, nor by any instrument whatever; in short, all servile work was forbidden: nor bring [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem;
to be unloaded and sold there, as wine, grapes, figs, and fish, were, in the times of Nehemiah, ( Nehemiah 13:15 Nehemiah 13:16 Nehemiah 13:19 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (Mkytwvpnb) "in animabus vestris", Calvin, Montanus, Schmidt.

Jeremias 17:21 In-Context

19 Thus saith the Lord; Go and stand in the gates of the children of thy people, by which the kings of Juda enter, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem:

20 and thou shalt say to them, Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Juda, and all Judea, and all Jerusalem, who go in at these gates:

21 thus saith the Lord; Take heed to your souls, and take up no burdens on the sabbath-day, and go not forth the gates of Jerusalem;

22 and carry forth no burdens out of your houses on the sabbath-day, and ye shall do no work: sanctify the sabbath-day, as I commanded your fathers.

23 But they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear, but stiffened their neck more than their fathers , so as not to hear me, and not to receive correction.