Matthew 12:2-12

2 But the Pharisees saw it and said to Him, "Look! your disciples are doing what the Law forbids them to do on the Sabbath."
3 "Have you never read," He replied, "what David did when he and his men were hungry?
4 how he entered the House of God and ate the Presented Loaves, which it was not lawful for him or his men to eat, nor for any except the priests?
5 And have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the Temple break the Sabbath without incurring guilt?
6 But I tell you that there is here that which is greater than the Temple.
7 And if you knew what this means, `It is mercy I desire, not sacrifice', you would not have condemned those who are without guilt.
8 For the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath."
9 Departing thence He went to their synagogue,
10 where there was a man with a shrivelled arm. And they questioned Him, "Is it right to cure people on the Sabbath?" Their intention was to bring a charge against Him.
11 "Which of you is there," He replied, "who, if he has but a single sheep and it falls into a hole on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?
12 Is not a man, however, far superior to a sheep? Therefore it is right to do good on the Sabbath."
The Weymouth New Testament is in the public domain.