Mat 12:1-14 | ESV | STEP | At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath . His disciples were hungry , and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat .

Matthew 12:1-14

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 At that time ^aJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and ^bthey began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ^c“Look, your disciples are doing ^dwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, ^e“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate ^fthe bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read ^gin the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, ^hsomething greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known ⁱwhat this means, ^j‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For ^kthe Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

9 He went on from there and ^lentered their synagogue. 10 And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ^m“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”— ⁿso that they might accuse him. 11 He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, ^oif it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 ^pOf how much more value is a man than a sheep! So ^qit is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And ^rthe man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.