1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. 1
2
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”
3
Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?
4
He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, [a] which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.
5
Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent?
6
But I tell you that One greater than the temple is here.
7
If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ [b] you would not have condemned the innocent.