Matthew 12:3

“But he said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him,”
Matthew 12:3 · direct translation from the Greek

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With the Greek beneath

Butδὲheὁsaidεἶπενto them,αὐτοῖς“Have you notΟὐκreadἀνέγνωτεwhatτίDavidΔαυὶδdidἐποίησενwhenὅτεhe was hungry,ἐπείνασενandκαὶthoseοἱwithμετ’him,αὐτοῦ

Theme · 1 Samuel 21:1-6

Go to 1 Samuel 21:1-6

Jesus recalls the episode of 1 Samuel 21:1-6: the priest gave David the bread of the presence.

The same term appears in both passages.

ἄρτουςartousG740לֶחֶםlejemH3899“bread”
ἱερεῦσινhiereusinG2409כֹּהֵןkohenH3548“priest”

Matthew 12:3, word by word

saidεἶπενeipen

say

To express something in words to others.

Where else “eipen” appears

readἀνέγνωτεanegnōte

read

Read.

Where else “anegnōte” appears

DavidΔαυὶδDauid

David

David, the king of Israel from whose line God promised a king forever (2 Samuel 7:12-16).

Where else “Dauid” appears

didἐποίησενepoiēsen

To carry out an action or cause an effect.

Where else “epoiēsen” appears

he was hungryἐπείνασενepeinasen

be hungry

To feel in the body the lack of food.

Where else “epeinasen” appears

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

Grain on the Sabbath

Mark 2:23-28 Luke 6:1-5

See them side by side

Matthew 12:1-8

¹At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields; and his disciples were hungry and began to pick heads of grain and to eat. ²But the Pharisees, seeing it, said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” ³But he said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those with him, ⁴how he entered into the house of God and they ate the bread of the presentation, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, except for the priests alone? ⁵Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are innocent? ⁶And I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. ⁷And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Mark 2:23-28

²³And it happened that on the Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to make their way, plucking the heads of grain. ²⁴And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing on the Sabbath what is not lawful?” ²⁵And he says to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and was hungry, he and those with him, ²⁶how he entered into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the presentation, which it is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave it also to those who were with him?” ²⁷And he was saying to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath; ²⁸so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Luke 6:1-5

¹Now it happened on a Sabbath that he was going through grainfields, and his disciples were picking and eating the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. ²But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ³And answering them, Jesus said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, ⁴how he entered into the house of God and, taking the bread of the presentation, ate and gave it to those with him, which it is not lawful to eat except for the priests alone?” ⁵And he was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

The context

2But the Pharisees, seeing it, said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

3 · This verse (above)

4how he entered into the house of God and they ate the bread of the presentation, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, except for the priests alone?

Read all of Matthew 12

To study Matthew 12 in a group

1. What it says
How did Jesus answer the Pharisees when they criticized his disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath (vv. 3–8)?
2. What it means
What does “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice” mean in Jesus' reply (v. 7)?
3. How I live it
Jesus says the mouth speaks from the heart's abundance (v. 34). Which of your words today would you like to guard?

How to use it