Matthew 12:1-8

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1At that time a  Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and b  they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him c  Look, your disciples are doing d  what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3He said to them, e  “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4how he entered the house of God and ate f  the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5Or have you not read g  in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6I tell you h  something greater than the temple is here. 7And if you had known i  what this means j  ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8For k  the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

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