MAT 12:4 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object, red:negative.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT how he went into the house of God and ate the loaves of the Presence, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for the ones with him, except only for the priests?

UST As you know, David entered the sacred tent. He ate some of the bread that had been on display before God, even though the law prohibited him and the men who were with him from doing that. Only priests could eat that bread.

BSB He entered the house of God, and [he and his companions] ate the consecrated bread,[fn] which was not lawful for [them] to eat, but only for the priests.

BLB how he entered into the house of God, and they ate the loaves of the presentation, which it was not lawful for him nor for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?

AICNT How did he enter into the house of God and eat the 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 alone?

OEB how he went into the house of God, and how they ate the consecrated bread, though it was not allowable for him or his companions to eat it, but only for the priests?

WEBBE how he entered into God’s house and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

WMBB (Same as above)

NET how he entered the house of God and they ate the sacred bread, which was against the law for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests?

LSV how he went into the house of God, and ate the Bread of the Presentation, which it is not lawful to him to eat, nor to those with him, except to the priests alone?

FBV He went into the house of God, and he and his men ate the sacred bread that they weren't allowed to eat since it's only for the priests.

TCNT how he entered the house of God and [fn]ate the bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for him or those who were with him to eat, but only for the priests?

12:4 ate ¦ they ate NA SBL WH

T4T David entered the big tent where they worshipped God and asked for some food. The high priest gave him the bread that had been {they had} presented to God. According to the laws of Moses, only priests were permitted to eat that bread, but David and the men who were with him ate it. And God did not consider that what they did was wrong

LEB how he entered into the house of God and ate the bread of the presentation, which it was not permitted for him or for those with him to eat, but only for the priests?

BBE How he went into the house of God and took for food the holy bread which it was not right for him or for those who were with him to take, but only for the priests?

Moff how he went into the house of God, and there they ate the loaves of the Presence which neither he nor his men were allowed to eat, but only the priests?

Wymth 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?

ASV how he entered into the house of God, and ate the showbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests?

DRA How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for them that were with him, but for the priests only?

YLT how he went into the house of God, and the loaves of the presentation did eat, which it is not lawful to him to eat, nor to those with him, except to the priests alone?

Drby How he entered into the house of [fn]God, and ate the shewbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests only?

12.4 Elohim

RV how be entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests?
(how be entered into the house of God, and did eat the show-bread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests? )

SLT How he went into the house of God, and ate the loaves of setting up, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor those with him, but for the priests alone?

Wbstr How he entered into the house of God, and ate the show-bread, which it was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them who were with him, but only for the priests?

KJB-1769 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
(How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the show-bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? )

KJB-1611 How he entred into the house of God, and did eate the shew bread, which was not lawfull for him to eate, neither for them which were with him, but, only for the Priests?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps Howe he entred into the house of God, and did eate the shew bread, which was not lawfull for hym to eate, neither for them which were with hym, but only for the priestes?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Gnva Howe he entred into ye house of God, and did eate the shewe bread, which was not lawfull for him to eate, neither for them which were with him, but onely for the Priestes?
(How he entered into ye/you_all house of God, and did eat the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the Priests? )

Cvdl How he entred in to the house of God, & ate the shew breds which were not laufull for him to eate, nether for the yt were with him, but onely for the prestes?
(How he entered in to the house of God, and ate the show breds which were not lawful for him to eat, neither for the it were with him, but only for the priests?)

TNT How he entred into the housse of God and ate the halowed loves which were not lawfull for him to eate nether for the which were with him but only for the prestes.
(How he entered into the house of God and ate the hallowed/consecrated loves which were not lawful for him to eat neither for the which were with him but only for the priests. )

Wycl hou he entride in to the hous of God, and eet looues of proposicioun, whiche looues it was not leueful to hym to ete, nether to hem that weren with hym, but to prestis aloone?
(how he entered in to the house of God, and eat loaves of proposicioun, which loaves it was not lawful to him to eat, neither to hem that were with him, but to priests alone?)

Luth wie er in das Gotteshaus ging und aß die Schaubrote, die ihm doch nicht ziemten zu essen, noch denen, die mit ihm waren, sondern allein den Priestern?
(as/like he in the God’shaus went and ate the Schaubrote, the him though/but not ziemten to/for eat, still those, the with him were, rather alone the priests?)

ClVg quomodo intravit in domum Dei, et panes propositionis comedit, quos non licebat ei edere, neque his qui cum eo erant, nisi solis sacerdotibus?[fn]
(how he_entered in/into/on house/home of_God, and bread/food proposition he_ate, which not/no licebat to_him to_eat, nor his who/which when/with by_him they_were, except of_the_sun to_the_priests? )

12.4 Panes propositionis. Quod significavit sacerdotalem cibum transiturum in usum populorum. Vel quia omnes sacerdotes debemus imitari. Vel quod omnes sacerdotes sumus.

12.4 Panes proposition. That signified priestlym food transiturum in/into/on use of_the_peoples. Or because everyone priests we_must to_imitate. Or that everyone priests we_are.

UGNT πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς Προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, ὃ οὐκ ἐξὸν ἦν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν, οὐδὲ τοῖς μετ’ αὐτοῦ, εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν μόνοις?
(pōs eisaʸlthen eis ton oikon tou Theou, kai tous artous taʸs Protheseōs efagen, ho ouk exon aʸn autōi fagein, oude tois met’ autou, ei maʸ tois hiereusin monois?)

SBL-GNT πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως ⸂ἔφαγον, ὃ⸃ οὐκ ἐξὸν ἦν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν οὐδὲ τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοῦ, εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν μόνοις;
(pōs eisaʸlthen eis ton oikon tou theou kai tous artous taʸs protheseōs ⸂efagon, ho⸃ ouk exon aʸn autōi fagein oude tois metʼ autou, ei maʸ tois hiereusin monois;)

RP-GNT πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, οὓς οὐκ ἐξὸν ἦν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν, οὐδὲ τοῖς μετ' αὐτοῦ, εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν μόνοις;
(pōs eisaʸlthen eis ton oikon tou theou, kai tous artous taʸs protheseōs efagen, hous ouk exon aʸn autōi fagein, oude tois met' autou, ei maʸ tois hiereusin monois;)

TC-GNT πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως [fn]ἔφαγεν, [fn]οὓς οὐκ ἐξὸν ἦν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν, οὐδὲ τοῖς μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ, εἰ μὴ [fn]τοῖς ἱερεῦσι μόνοις;
(pōs eisaʸlthen eis ton oikon tou Theou, kai tous artous taʸs protheseōs efagen, hous ouk exon aʸn autōi fagein, oude tois meta autou, ei maʸ tois hiereusi monois; )

12:4 εφαγεν ¦ εφαγον NA SBL WH

12:4 ους ¦ ο CT

12:4 τοις ιερευσι μονοις ¦ μονοις τοις ιερευσιν ANT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 12:1–14: Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath

There are two main events in this section. One is about picking grain on the Sabbath. The other is about healing on the Sabbath. These two events show that Jesus has the authority to decide which deeds are acceptable to do on the Sabbath.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus showed that he has authority over Sabbath rules

Lord of the Sabbath (NIV)

The Pharisees criticize Jesus because of what he did on the Sabbath

There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 2:23–3:6 and Luke 6:1–11.

12:4a

He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread,

He entered God’s tent and ate the bread presented/offered to God.
He went into the courtyard of the worship place of God and was given the bread/food that was an offering to God. Then he and his men ate it.

He entered the house of God: The phrase the house of God was a Jewish expression that could refer to either the tabernacle or the temple. Here it refers to the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a movable tent. It was the special worship place for the Jews before they built the temple. It was the place where Jewish people presented sacrifices to God and where God revealed his presence to them.

If your word for house is general enough to include the Jewish tabernacle, you may follow the BSB. If people in your area will think only of a permanent house, you may want to use your expression for the Jewish tabernacle.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the tent of worship to God

the worship place of God

the tabernacle

The term house of God refers not only to the tent of worship but also the courtyards around it. Since only priests were allowed to enter the tent, David probably entered only the courtyard and the priest gave him the bread there. If you feel that this detail is important here, you may want to include the implied information. For example:

He entered the court/courtyard of the house of God

and he and his companions ate: There is some implied information here:

According to Luke 6:4 and 1 Samuel 21:1–6, David asked the priest for the bread, and the priest gave it to him. David did not steal the bread. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this information explicit. For example:
he was given the bread of the Presence and ate it
he received the holy bread and ate it
According to 12:4b, David’s men also ate the bread. David was not the only person to eat it. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this information explicit here. For example:
and he and his men ate

the consecrated bread: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the consecrated bread is more literally “the bread of the presentation.” It had this name because a priest presented/offered this bread to God by placing it on a table in the tabernacle. Every Sabbath the bread was replaced with fresh bread. Then, only the priests were allowed to eat the old bread. See Leviticus 24:5–9 and Exodus 25:30.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the bread offered to God (GNT)

the bread that had been placed before God

the holy bread (NCV)

bread: The word bread refers to the main food of the Jewish people. It was the food they ate every day.

If bread is not known in your area, you can:

translate this word with a general term. For example:
food
use the name of the food that is eaten at most meals in your area, but only if the word can also be used in a general sense to refer to any food.

12:4b

which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.

It was against the law for him or his companions to eat that bread. Only the priests were allowed to eat it.
Moses’ law permits only priests to eat that bread. The law did not permit David and his men to eat it.

which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests: The law of Moses did not allow anyone but/except priests to eat this special bread (Leviticus 24:9). It was against the law for David and his men to eat it.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

it was against the Law for them to eat it—only the priests were allowed to eat that bread. (GNT)

The law did not allow anyone except the priests to eat it. David and his men were not allowed to eat it.

If not for the priests, the law did not allow anyone to eat this bread. He and his men were not allowed to eat it.

priests: The word priests refers to Jewish men who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. Priests also performed other rituals for the people.

Here are some other ways to translate priests:

Use a descriptive term that focuses on the function of priests. For example:
sacrificers
men who offer sacrifices to God
men who represent people to God
Use a local word for priests. This option may be acceptable if the duties of local priests are similar to those of Jewish priests. You may need to indicate that the word refers to Jewish priests. For example:
Jewish people’s priests/sacrificers

If possible, you should choose a term that can be used in both Old Testament and New Testament contexts.

The word “priest” first occurs in 8:4b. See also how you translated “priest” in the phrase “chief priests” in 2:4. See also priest in the Glossary for more information.

General Comment on 12:4a–b

God was not angry with David or the priest who gave the bread to him. Instead, God is pleased when his people help others in need. This is the implied conclusion based on 12:7b. You may want to explain some of this in a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:

The priest had mercy on David and gave him the bread. This broke the law that said that only the priests were permitted to eat that bread. But God was not angry with the priest or David. Instead God was happy that the priest had mercy on David, as 12:7 explains. The intent of the law is to be merciful toward poor and needy people and to help them when they are in need.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τόν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τούς ἄρτους τῆς Προθέσεως ἔφαγον ὅ οὐκ ἐξόν ἦν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν οὐδέ τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοῦ εἰ μή τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν μόνοις)

Jesus uses the phrase the house of God to refer to the tabernacle, the place where God’s presence was. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [the tabernacle] or [the sanctuary]

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς Προθέσεως

The phrase the loaves of the Presence refers to loaves of bread that were placed every day on a table in the tabernacle or temple as an offering to God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [the loaves that were presented to God] or [the bread that was placed in God’s presence every morning]

Note 3 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions

εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν μόνοις

except (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τόν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τούς ἄρτους τῆς Προθέσεως ἔφαγον ὅ οὐκ ἐξόν ἦν αὐτῷ φαγεῖν οὐδέ τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοῦ εἰ μή τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν μόνοις)

Jesus indicates that the only people who were allowed to eat this bread were the priests. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a form that introduces this kind of exception. Alternate translation: [since only the priests could eat it] or [which was lawful only for the priests to eat]

Parallel MAT 12:4

Section 12:1–14: Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath

12:4a

12:4b

General Comment on 12:4a–b