Matthew 12:1–13

Plucking Grain on the Sabbath

¹²At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.^{* 2}When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”^{* 3}He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?^{* 4}How he entered the house of God, and they^f ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests?^{* 5}Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are guiltless?^{* 6}I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.^{* 7}But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.^{* 8}For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

The Man with a Withered Hand

⁹He left that place and entered their synagogue; ¹⁰a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath?” so that they might accuse him.^{* 11}He said to them, “Suppose one of you has only one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath; will you not lay hold of it and lift it out?^{* 12}How much more valuable is a human being than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”^{* 13}Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other.