Mark 2:24

Contemporary English Version

Some Pharisees asked Jesus, "Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”

King James Version (1611)
And the Pharisees saide vnto him, Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawfull?

King James Version
And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

English Standard Version
And the Pharisees were saying to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

New American Standard Bible
The Pharisees were saying to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

New Century Version
The Pharisees said to Jesus, "Why are your followers doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath day?"

Amplified Bible
The Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The Pharisees were saying to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

Legacy Standard Bible
And the Pharisees were saying to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

Berean Standard Bible
So the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?"

Complete Jewish Bible
The P'rushim said to him, "Look! Why are they violating Shabbat?"

Darby Translation
And the Pharisees said to him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath what is not lawful?

Easy-to-Read Version
Some Pharisees said to Jesus, "Why are your followers doing this? It is against the law to pick grain on the Sabbath."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Pharises saide vnto him, Beholde, why doe they on the Sabbath day, that which is not lawfull?

George Lamsa Translation
And the Pharisees said to him, Look what they are doing on the sabbath! that which is unlawful.

Good News Translation
So the Pharisees said to Jesus, "Look, it is against our Law for your disciples to do that on the Sabbath!"

Lexham English Bible
And the Pharisees began to say to him, "Behold, why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?"

Literal Translation
And the Pharisees said to Him, Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the sabbaths?

American Standard Version
And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

Bible in Basic English
And the Pharisees said to him, Why are they doing what it is not right to do on the Sabbath?

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

International Standard Version
The Pharisees said to him, "Look! Why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

Etheridge Translation
And the Pharishee said to him, See how on the shabath they do what is not lawful.

Murdock Translation
And the Pharisees said to him: See, how on the sabbath, they do that which is not lawful?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the pharisees sayde vnto hym: Beholde, why do they on the Sabboth dayes, that which is not lawfull?

English Revised Version
And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

World English Bible
The Pharisees said to him, "Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
And the Pharisees said to him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath that which is not lawful?

Weymouth's New Testament
So the Pharisees said to Him, "Look! why are they doing what on the Sabbath is unlawful?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the Farisees seiden to hym, Lo! what thi disciplis doon in sabotis, that is not leeueful.

Update Bible Version
And the Pharisees said to him, Look, why do they do on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful?

Webster's Bible Translation
And the Pharisees said to him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath that which is not lawful?

New English Translation
So the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?"

New King James Version
And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

New Living Translation
But the Pharisees said to Jesus, "Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?"

New Life Bible
The proud religious law-keepers said to Jesus, "See! Why are they doing what the Law says should not be done on the Day of Rest?"

New Revised Standard
The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, the Pharisees, were saying, - See! why are they doing, on the Sabbath, what is not allowed?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Pharisees said to him: Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?

Revised Standard Version
And the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
And the Pharises sayde vnto him: beholde why do they on the Saboth dayes yt which is not laufull?

Young's Literal Translation
and the Pharisees said to him, `Lo, why do they on the sabbaths that which is not lawful?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the Pharises sayde vnto him: Beholde, what thy disciples do, which is not laufull vpo the Sabbath.

Mace New Testament (1729)
upon which the Pharisees said to him, pray observe how they trespass on the sabbath-day.

Simplified Cowboy Version
Some of those bigwig preachers saw this and accused them of violating the Sacred day of rest.

Contextual Overview

¹⁸ The followers of John the Baptist and the Pharisees often went without eating. Some people came and asked Jesus, "Why do the followers of John and those of the Pharisees often go without eating, while your disciples never do?" ¹⁹ Jesus answered: The friends of a bridegroom don't go without eating while he is still with them. ²⁰ But the time will come when he will be taken from them. Then they will go without eating. ²¹ No one patches old clothes by sewing on a piece of new cloth. The new piece would shrink and tear a bigger hole. ²² No one pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would swell and burst the old skins. Then the wine would be lost, and the skins would be ruined. New wine must be put into new wineskins. ²³ One Sabbath Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields. His disciples were picking grains of wheat as they went along. ²⁴ Some Pharisees asked Jesus, "Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!" ²⁵ Jesus answered, "Haven't you read what David did when he and his followers were hungry and in need? ²⁶ It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into the house of God and ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his followers." ²⁷ Jesus finished by saying, "People were not made for the good of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of people.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

why: Mark 2:7, Mark 2:16, Matthew 7:3-5, Matthew 15:2, Matthew 15:3, Matthew 23:23, Matthew 23:24, Hebrews 12:3

that: Exodus 20:10, Exodus 31:15, Exodus 35:2, Exodus 35:3, Numbers 15:32-36, Nehemiah 13:15-22, Isaiah 56:2, Isaiah 56:4, Isaiah 56:6, Isaiah 58:13, Jeremiah 17:20-27

Reciprocal: Luke 6:2 - Why John 5:10 - it is not

Cross-References

Genesis 2:1
So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created.

Genesis 2:2

The Seventh Day

By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested.

Genesis 2:3
God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.

Genesis 2:4
That's how God created the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth,

Genesis 2:6
But streams came up from the ground and watered the earth.

Genesis 2:7
The Lord God took a handful of soil and made a man. God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing.

Genesis 2:9
The Lord God placed all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees in the garden. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of the trees gave life—the other gave the power to know the difference between right and wrong.

Genesis 2:10
From Eden a river flowed out to water the garden, then it divided into four rivers.

Genesis 2:11
The first one is the Pishon River that flows through the land of Havilah,

Genesis 2:12
where pure gold, rare perfumes, and precious stones are found.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Pharisees said unto him,.... To Christ, the same they said to his disciples, Luke 6:2.

Behold, why do they on the sabbath day, that which is not lawful? see how they pluck the ears of corn and rub them, and eat things, which by the law, especially by the traditions of the elders, were not lawful to be done on the sabbath day; Luke 6:2- :.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See Matthew 12:1-8.

The cornfields - The fields sown with wheat or barley. The word “corn,” in the Bible, refers only to grain of that kind, and never to “maize” or “Indian corn.”

To pluck the ears of corn - They were hungry, Matthew 12:1. They therefore gathered the wheat or barley as they walked and rubbed it in their hands to shell it, and thus to satisfy their appetite. Though our Lord was with them, and though he had all things at his control, yet he suffered them to resort to this method of supplying their wants. When Jesus, thus “with” his disciples, suffered them to be “poor,” we may learn that poverty is not disgraceful; that God often suffers it for the good of his people; and that he will take care, in some way, that their wants shall be supplied. It was “lawful” for them thus to supply their needs. Though the property belonged to another, yet the law of Moses allowed the poor to satisfy their desires when hungry. See Deuteronomy 23:25.

Mark 2:24

That which is not lawful - That is, that which they esteemed to be unlawful on the “Sabbath day.” It was made lawful by Moses, without any distinction of days, but “they” had denied its lawfulness on the Sabbath. Christ shows them from their own law that it was “not” unlawful.

Mark 2:25

Have ye never read ... - See the notes at Matthew 12:3.

Mark 2:26

Abiathar the priest - From 1 Samuel 21:1, it appears that Ahimelech was high priest at the time here referred to. And from 1 Samuel 23:6, it appears that “Abiathar” was the son of “Ahimelech.” Some difficulty has been felt in reconciling these accounts. The probable reason as to why Mark says it was in the days of “Abiathar” is that Abiathar was better known than Ahimelech. The son of the high priest was regarded as his successor, and was often associated with him in the duties of his office. It was not improper, therefore, to designate him as high priest even during the life of his father, especially as that was the name by which he was afterward known. “Abiathar,” moreover, in the calamitous times when David came to the throne, left the interest of Saul and fled to David, bringing with him the ephod, one of the special garments of the high priest. For a long time, during David’s reign, he was high priest, and it became natural, therefore, to associate “his” name with that of David; to speak of David as king, and Abiathar the high priest of his time. This will account for the fact that he was spoken of rather than his father. At the same time this was strictly true, that this was done in the days of “Abiathar,” who was afterward high priest, and was familiarly spoken of as such; as we say that “General” Washington was present at the defeat of Braddock and saved his army, though the title of “General” did not belong to him until many years afterward. Compare the notes at Luke 2:2.

showbread - See the notes at Matthew 12:4.

Mark 2:27

The sabbath was made for man - For his rest from toil, his rest from the cares and anxieties of the world, to give him an opportunity to call off his attention from earthly concerns and to direct it to the affairs of eternity. It was a kind provision for man that he might refresh his body by relaxing his labors; that he might have undisturbed time to seek the consolations of religion to cheer him in the anxieties and sorrows of a troubled world; and that he might render to God that homage which is most justly due to him as the Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Redeemer of the world. And it is easily capable of proof that no institution has been more signally blessed to man’s welfare than the Sabbath. To that we owe, more than to anything else, the peace and order of a civilized community. Where there is no Sabbath there is ignorance, vice, disorder, and crime. On that holy day the poor and the ignorant, as well as the learned, have undisturbed time to learn the requirements of religion, the nature of morals, the law of God, and the way of salvation. On that day man may offer his praises to the Great Giver of all good, and in the sanctuary seek the blessing of him whose favor is life. Where that day is observed in any manner as it should be, order prevails, morals are promoted, the poor are elevated in their condition, vice flies away, and the community puts on the appearance of neatness, industry, morality, and religion. The Sabbath was therefore pre-eminently intended for man’s welfare, and the best interests of mankind demand that it should be sacredly regarded as an appointment of merciful heaven intended for our best good, and, where improved aright, infallibly resulting in our temporal and eternal peace.

Not man for the sabbath - Man was made “first,” and then the Sabbath was appointed for his welfare, Genesis 2:1-3. The Sabbath was not “first” made or contemplated, and then the man made with reference to that. Since, therefore, the Sabbath was intended for man’s “good,” the law respecting it must not be interpreted so as to oppose his real welfare. It must be explained in consistency with a proper attention to the duties of mercy to the poor and the sick, and to those in peril. It must be, however, in accordance with man’s “real good on the whole,” and with the law of God. The law of God contemplates man’s “real good on the whole;” and we have no right, under the plea that the Sabbath was made for man, to do anything contrary to what the law of God admits. It would not be for our “real good,” but for our real and eternal injury, to devote the Sabbath to vice, to labor, or to amusement.

Mark 2:28

Therefore the Son of man ... - See the notes at Matthew 12:8.