But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”
Parallel translations
- WEB But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?”
- KJV And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do ye that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days?
- BSB But some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
- NKJV And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
- NASB But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Pharisees accuse the disciples of breaking the Sabbath. Their man-made rules treat a small act as unlawful work.
Overview
The Pharisees challenge what they regard as unlawful labor on the Sabbath, applying their detailed traditions. Their objection reflects a view of Sabbath-keeping focused on rule enforcement rather than God's intent. Jesus' reply will reorient the Sabbath toward mercy and toward his own authority.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Matt 12:2But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”
- John 5:16For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.
- Luke 6:7–9The scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him.
- Mark 2:24The Pharisees said to him, “Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”
- Exod 35:2‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to Yahweh: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death.
- John 5:9–11Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day.
- John 9:14–16It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
- Num 15:32–35While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.
- Exod 22:10“If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies or is injured, or driven away, no man seeing it;
- Luke 5:33They said to him, “Why do John’s disciples often fast and pray, likewise also the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink?”
- Exod 31:15Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
- Matt 23:23–24“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
- Isa 58:13“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable; and shall honor it, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words:
- Matt 15:2“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
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Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
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Original language
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