Passage

Matthew 12.1-14

Book: Matthew · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. At that season Jesus went on the sabbath day through the grainfields; and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears and to eat. 2. But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do upon the sabbath. 3. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him; 4. how he entered into the house of God, and ate the showbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests? 5. Or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are guiltless? 6. But I say unto you, that one greater than the temple is here. 7. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8. For the Son of man is lord of the sabbath. 9. And he departed thence, and went into their synagogue: 10. and behold, a man having a withered hand. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? that they might accuse him. 11. And he said unto them, What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12. How much then is a man of more value than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the sabbath day. 13. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, as the other. 14. But the Pharisees went out, and took counsel against him, how they might destroy him."

"15. And Jesus perceiving it withdrew from thence: and many followed him; and he healed them all, 16. and charged them that they should not make him known:" (Matthew 12:1-16, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2. But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3. But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him; 4. how he entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5. Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? 6. But I tell you that one 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.” 9. He departed there, and went into their synagogue. 10. And behold there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” that they might accuse him. 11. He said to them, “What man is there among you, who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it, and lift it out? 12. Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” 13. Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other. 14. But the Pharisees went out, and conspired against him, how they might destroy him."

"15. Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, 16. and commanded them that they should not make him known:" (Matthew 12:1-16, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. 2. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. 3. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; 4. How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? 5. Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6. But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple. 7. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. 9. And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10. And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 11. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12. How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. 14. Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. ^{held: or, took counsel}"

"15. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; 16. And charged them that they should not make him known:" (Matthew 12:1-16, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. At that time did Jesus go on the sabbaths through the corn, and his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck ears, and to eat, 2. and the Pharisees having seen, said to him, 'Lo, thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do on a sabbath.' 3. And he said to them, 'Did ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, himself and those with him, 4. how he went into the house of God, and the loaves of the presentation did eat, which it is not lawful to him to eat, nor to those with him, except to the priests alone? 5. 'Or did ye not read in the Law, that on the sabbaths the priests in the temple do profane the sabbath, and are blameless? 6. and I say to you, that a greater than the temple is here; 7. and if ye had known what is: Kindness I will, and not sacrifice, ye had not condemned the blameless, 8. for the son of man is lord even of the sabbath.' 9. And having departed thence, he went to their synagogue, 10. and lo, there was a man having the hand withered, and they questioned him, saying, 'Is it lawful to heal on the sabbaths?' that they might accuse him. 11. And he said to them, 'What man shall be of you, who shall have one sheep, and if this may fall on the sabbaths into a ditch, will not lay hold on it and raise [it]? 12. How much better, therefore, is a man than a sheep?, so that it is lawful on the sabbaths to do good.' 13. Then saith he to the man, 'Stretch forth thy hand,' and he stretched [it] forth, and it was restored whole as the other. 14. And the Pharisees having gone forth, held a consultation against him, how they might destroy him,"

"15. and Jesus having known, withdrew thence, and there followed him great multitudes, and he healed them all, 16. and did charge them that they might not make him manifest," (Matthew 12:1-16, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.