Matthew 12:1–14

Sabbath Questions

^1aAt that ¹time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^bpick the heads of grain and eat.

²But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what ^ais not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

³But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions,

⁴how he entered the house of God, and ^athey ate the ¹consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?

⁵“Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ¹break the Sabbath and are innocent?

⁶“But I say to you that something ^agreater than the temple is here.

⁷“But if you had known what this ¹means, ‘^aI desire ²compassion, and not a sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

⁸“For ^athe Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^9aDeparting from there, He went into their synagogue.

¹⁰And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ¹Jesus, asking, “^aIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him.

¹¹And He said to them, “^aWhat man ¹is there among you who ²has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

¹²“^aHow much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ¹good on the Sabbath.”

¹³Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^aHe stretched it out, and it was restored to ¹normal, like the other.

¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and ^1aconspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.