“Remember you were a slave in Egypt”
Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:15 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A standard restatement of the Sabbath command.
The cultural key
The two versions of the Sabbath commandment give two different rationales, and this one is easy to miss. In Exodus 20, the reason to keep the Sabbath is creation: God made the world in six days and rested on the seventh, so His people imitate His rest. But here in Deuteronomy, the reason is redemption from slavery: 'Remember that you were a slave in Egypt.' The point is social and humane, in Egypt, slaves worked without ceasing, with no rest and no dignity; now that God has freed Israel, they must extend that freedom weekly to everyone under their roof, sons, daughters, servants, foreigners, and even the work animals all get the day off (5:14). So the Sabbath becomes a weekly re-enactment and safeguard of liberation: a people who were once worked to death give rest to all in their care, remembering they are no longer slaves. A modern reader sees a repeated rule; the first hearers heard the Sabbath reframed as a memorial of freedom and a charter of humane rest.
Recovered meaning
Where Exodus grounds the Sabbath in creation, Deuteronomy grounds it in the exodus: because you were slaves who never rested, you must now give rest to everyone in your household. The Sabbath is a weekly re-enactment of freedom from slavery.