1 At that time Jesus passed through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some heads of grain.
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But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"
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He said to them, "Haven't you read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry-
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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?
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Or haven't you read in the Law [b] that on Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent?
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But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here!
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If you had known what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice , [c] you would not have condemned the innocent.