Leviticus 23:28

Summary

Leviticus 23:28 prohibits all work on "this very day," identifying it as a Yom Kippurim ("Day of Atonements", H3117/H3725), the day on which atonement is made on behalf of the people before Yehovah their God.

Key words

• melakhah ("work", H4399) — feminine singular noun, the object of the prohibition; preceded by khol ("any", H3605) in construct, giving the sense "any work at all."
• ta'aSu ("you will do", H6213A) — qal imperfect, second person masculine plural, negated by lo' ("not", H3808); the imperfect form combined with the negation expresses a durative prohibition applying throughout the day rather than a single momentary act.
• kippurim ("atonements", H3725) — masculine plural noun in construct relation with yom ("day", H3117G), literally "a day of atonements," the plural form contributing an intensive or comprehensive sense to the noun.
• khaPer ("to make atonement", H3722A) — piel infinitive, the intensive stem denoting the effecting of atonement; the infinitive construction with le- ("to/for", H9005) expresses purpose: the day exists "in order to make atonement."
• liphNei ("before", from H6440G with preposition) — construct plural noun literally "to the face of," used idiomatically to mean "in the presence of," here preceding Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) and Elohei-khem ("your God", H0430G).

What the text says

The verse opens with the object ve-khol-melakhah ("and any work", H3605+H4399) placed before the verb ta'aSu ("you will do", H6213A), a common Hebrew construction that fronts the object for emphasis — the prohibition centers on "work," not merely on the act of working. The negation lo' ("not", H3808) with the imperfect verb form gives a general, standing prohibition rather than describing a specific past or future event.

The phrase be-'etzem ha-yom ha-zeh ("on the substance of this day", H6106H+H3117G+H2088) uses 'etzem ("substance/bone/self", H6106H) in a construct idiom that intensifies "day" to mean "this very day," underscoring the specific temporal boundary of the command.

The causal clause introduced by ki ("for/because", H3588A) explains the prohibition: yom kippurim hu' ("it is a day of atonements", H3117G+H3725+H1931) — the plural kippurim attached to a singular yom in construct describes the day's character. The following infinitive clause le-khaPer 'aleikhem ("to make atonement on you", H3722A+H5921A+H9036) uses the piel infinitive with le- to state the purpose of the day, and liphNei Yehovah Elohei-khem ("before Yehovah your God", H6440G+H3068G+H0430G+H9026) locates this atoning action in the divine presence.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders melakhah ("work", H4399) simply as ergon ("work"), without a qualifier, matching the Hebrew's unqualified "any work." The Vulgate, however, translates it as opus servile ("servile work"), adding a qualifier not present in the Hebrew text, which the BSB and SBLIBRE do not reflect, both rendering it as unqualified "any work."