Matthew 12:3-7

3 He answered, “Haven’t you 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—which was not lawful for them to do, but only for the priests.

5 Or haven’t you read in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are innocent?

6 I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.

7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’^[a] you would not have condemned the innocent.

Cross References

• 1. 1 Samuel 21:6
• 2. Leviticus 24:5,9
• 3. Numbers 28:9,10; John 7:22,23
• 4. ver 41,42
• 5. Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:6-8; Matthew 9:13

Footnotes

• [a] Hosea 6:6