Matthew 12:1-21

Holman Christian Standard Bible

Lord of the Sabbath

12 At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath.^(A) His disciples^(B) were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain. ² But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful^(C) to do on the Sabbath!”

³ He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry— ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and they ate^[a] the sacred bread, which is not lawful for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?^{(D) 5} Or haven’t you read in the Law^[b] that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?^{(E) 6} But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here!^{(F) 7} If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice,^(G)[c] you would not have condemned the innocent. ⁸ For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”^(H)

The Man with the Paralyzed Hand

⁹ Moving on from there, He entered their synagogue.^{(I) 10} There He saw a man who had a paralyzed hand. And in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”^(J)

¹¹ But He said to them, “What man among you, if he had a sheep^[d] that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out?^{(K) 12} A man is worth far more than a sheep,^(L) so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”

¹³ Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored,^(M) as good as the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.^(N)

The Servant of the Lord

¹⁵ When Jesus became aware of this, He withdrew from there. Huge crowds^[e] followed Him, and He healed them all.^{(O) 16} He warned them not to make Him known,^{(P) 17} so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: