Mark 2:25

25 He said to them, "Did you never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry -- he, and they who were with him?

Mark 2:25 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 2:25

And he said unto them
By way of answer to their question, and which was a full one, and enough to silence them:

have ye never read what David did;
referring to the history in ( 1 Samuel 21:1-15 ) .

when he had need:
of bread, was in great necessity, and in the utmost distress:

and was an hungered, he, and they that were with him?
which was a justifiable reason for what he and his company did; as it was for the action of the disciples; being in a like case, and therefore very appropriate to the purpose; (See Gill on Matthew 12:3).

Mark 2:25 In-Context

23 It happened that he was going on the day of Shabbat through the grain fields, and his talmidim began, as they went, to pluck the ears of grain.

24 The Perushim said to him, "Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the day of Shabbat?"

25 He said to them, "Did you never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry -- he, and they who were with him?

26 How he entered into the house of God when Avyatar was Kohen Gadol, and ate the show bread, which it is not lawful to eat except for the Kohanim, and gave also to those who were with him?"

27 He said to them, "The Shabbat was made for man, not man for the Shabbat.