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Mark 2:23–27

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

2:23–28pp—Mt 12:1–8; Lk 6:1–5
3:1–6pp—Mt 12:9–14; Lk 6:6–11

23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.k 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”l

25 He answered, Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest,m he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.n And he also gave some to his companions.”o

27 Then he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man,p not man for the Sabbath.q

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Mark 2:23–27 — English Standard Version (ESV)

23 One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Mark 2:23–27 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

23 And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. 24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? 25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Mark 2:23–27 — New Living Translation (NLT)

23 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. 24 But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

25 Jesus said to them, Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.”

27 Then Jesus said to them, The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.

Mark 2:23–27 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

23 Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

25 But He said to them, Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: 26 how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”

27 And He said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

Mark 2:23–27 — New Century Version (NCV)

23 One Sabbath day, as Jesus was walking through some fields of grain, his followers began to pick some grain to eat. 24 The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Why are your followers doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”

25 Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and those with him were hungry and needed food? 26 During the time of Abiathar the high priest, David went into God’s house and ate the holy bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And David also gave some of the bread to those who were with him.”

27 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath day was made to help people; they were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath day.

Mark 2:23–27 — American Standard Version (ASV)

23 And it came to pass, that he was going on the sabbath day through the grainfields; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears. 24 And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? 25 And he said unto them, Did ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, he, and they that were with him? 26 How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the showbread, which it is not lawful to eat save for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him? 27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

Mark 2:23–27 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

23 And it came to pass that he went on the sabbath through the cornfields; and his disciples began to walk on, plucking the ears. 24 And the Pharisees said to him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath what is not lawful? 25 And he said to them, Have ye never read what David did when he had need and hungered, he and those with him, 26 how he entered into the house of God, in the section of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the shew-bread, which it is not lawful unless for the priests to eat, and gave even to those that were with him? 27 And he said to them, The sabbath was made on account of man, not man on account of the sabbath;

Mark 2:23–27 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

23 Once on a day of rest—a holy day, Jesus was going through the grainfields. As the disciples walked along, they began to pick the heads of grain. 

24 The Pharisees asked him, “Look! Why are your disciples doing something that is not permitted on the day of rest—a holy day?” 

25 Jesus asked them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he and his men were in need and were hungry? 26 Haven’t you ever read how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was chief priest and ate the bread of the presence? He had no right to eat those loaves. Only the priests have that right. Haven’t you ever read how he also gave some of it to his men?” 

27 Then he added, “The day of rest—a holy day, was made for people, not people for the day of rest.

Mark 2:23–27 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

23 On the Sabbath He was going through the grainfields, and His disciples began to make their way picking some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

25 He said to them, Have you never read what David and those who were with him did when he was in need and hungry 26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the sacred bread which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests and also gave some to his companions?” 27 Then He told them, The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

Mark 2:23–27 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

23 One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? 26 He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath;

Mark 2:23–27 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

23 And it happened that he was going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way while plucking off the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees began to say to him, “Behold, why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he had need and he and those who were with him were hungry—26 how 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 permitted to eat (except the priests) and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was established for people, and not people for the Sabbath.

Mark 2:23–27 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

23 One Sabbath day Jesus was walking with his disciples through the grainfields. The disciples began to break off some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! It is against the Law to do this on the Sabbath. Why are your disciples doing it?”

25 He answered, “Haven’t you ever read about what David did? He and his men were hungry. They needed food. 26 It was when Abiathar was high priest. David entered the house of God and ate the holy bread. Only priests were allowed to eat it. David also gave some to his men.”

27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath day was made for man. Man was not made for the Sabbath day.

Mark 2:23–27 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

23 And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain.

24 The Pharisees were saying to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

25 And He said to them, Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry;

26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?”

27 Jesus said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.


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