MARK 2:26 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 in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the loaves of the presence, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and he also gave to the ones being with him?”

UST As you know, David entered the sacred tent while Abiathar was the ruling priest. He ate some of the bread that had been on display before God, and he had the men who were with him eat some of it too. He did that even though the law allowed only the priests to eat that bread.”

BSB During the high priesthood of Abiathar, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread,[fn] which was lawful only for the priests. And he gave [some] to his companions as well.”

BLB how he entered into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the loaves of the presentation, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests--and he even gave to those being with him?"

AICNT how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave it to those who were with him?”

OEB how he went into the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which only the priests are allowed to eat, and gave some to his comrades as well?’

WEBBE How he entered into God’s house at the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the show bread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave also to those who were with him?”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?”

LSV How he went into the house of God, in [the days of] Abiathar the chief priest, and ate the Bread of the Presentation, which it is not lawful to eat, except to the priests, and he also gave to those who were with him?”

FBV “He went into God's house when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the consecrated bread which no one except the priests are permitted to eat, and gave it to his men too.”

TCNT how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except for the priests, and how he also gave it to those who were with him?”

T4T During the time Abiathar was high priest, David entered the big tent where people worshipped God and asked for some bread. The high priest gave him some of the loaves of bread. That bread was the bread he had presented to God. It was permitted in one of Moses’ laws that only the priests could eat that bread! But David ate some of it. Then he also gave some of it to the men who were with him. But God did not consider that was wrong!”

LEB how he entered into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the presentation, which it is not permitted to eat (except the priests) and also gave it[fn] to those who were with him?”

2:26 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

BBE How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and took for food the holy bread, which only the priests may take, and gave it to those who were with him?

Moff He went into the house of God (Abiathar was high priest then) and ate the loaves of the Presence which no one except the priests is allowed to eat, and also shared them with his followers."

Wymth how he entered the house of God in the High-priesthood of Abiathar, and ate the Presented Loaves—which none but the priests are allowed to eat—and gave some to his men also?"

ASV How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the showbread, which it is not lawful to eat save for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him?

DRA How he went into the house of God, under Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which was not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave to them who were with him?

YLT how he went into the house of God, (at 'Abiathar the chief priest,') and the loaves of the presentation did eat, which it is not lawful to eat, except to the priests, and he gave also to those who were with him?'

Drby how he entered into the house of [fn]God, in [the section of] Abiathar [the] high priest, and ate the shew-bread, which it is not lawful unless for the priests to eat, and gave even to those that were with him?

2.26 Elohim

RV How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which it is not lawful to eat save for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him?
(How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and did eat the show-bread, which it is not lawful to eat save for the priests, and gave also to them that were with him? )

SLT How he went into the house of God to Abiathar the chief priest, and ate the loaves of setting up, which is not lawful to eat but for priests, and gave to those being with him?

Wbstr How he went into the house of God, in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the show-bread, which it is not lawful to eat, but for the priests, and gave also to them who were with him?

KJB-1769 How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?
( How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the show-bread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? )

KJB-1611 How hee went into the house of God in the dayes of Abiathar the high Priest, and did eate the Shew-bread, which is not lawfull to eate, but for the Priests, and gaue also to them which were with him?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps Howe he went into the house of God in the dayes of Abiathar the hye prieste, and dyd eate the shewe bread, which is not lawfull to eate, but for the priestes, and gaue also to them which were with hym?
(How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the show bread, which is not lawful to eat, but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him?)

Gnva Howe he went into the house of God, in the daies of Abiathar the hie Priest, and did eat the shewe bread, which were not lawfull to eate, but for the Priests, and gaue also to them which were with him?
(How he went into the house of God, in the days of Abiathar the high Priest, and did eat the show bread, which were not lawful to eat, but for the Priests, and gave also to them which were with him? )

Cvdl how he wente in to the house of God in the tyme of Abiathar the hye prest, and ate the shewbreds (which was laufull for no man to eate, but for the prestes) and he gaue them vnto him, and to them that were with him?
(how he went in to the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the show-breads (which was lawful for no man to eat, but for the priests) and he gave them unto him, and to them that were with him?)

TNT How he went into the housse of God in the dayes of Abiathar the hye preste and dyd eate the halowed loves which is not laufull to eate but for the prestes only: and gave also to the which were with him?
(How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest and did eat the hallowed/consecrated loves which is not lawful to eat but for the priests only: and gave also to the which were with him? )

Wycl Hou he wente in to the hous of God, vndur Abiathar, prince of prestis, and eete looues of proposicioun, which it was not leeueful to ete, but to preestis aloone, and he yaf to hem that weren with hym.
(How he went in to the house of God, under Abiathar, prince of priests, and eat loaves of proposicioun, which it was not lawful to eat, but to priests alone, and he gave to hem that were with him.)

Luth wie er ging in das Haus Gottes zur Zeit Abjathars, des Hohenpriesters, und aß die Schaubrote, die niemand durfte essen denn die Priester, und er gab sie auch denen, die bei ihm waren?
(as/like he went in the house God’s to/for time/period Abyathars, the high_priests, and ate the Schaubrote, the no_one was_allowed eat because/than the priest(s), and he gave they/she/them also those, the at/in him were?)

ClVg quomodo introivit in domum Dei sub Abiathar principe sacerdotum, et panes propositionis manducavit, quos non licebat manducare, nisi sacerdotibus, et dedit eis qui cum eo erant?[fn]
(how entered in/into/on house/home of_God under Abiathar prince priests, and bread/food proposition manducavit, which not/no licebat to_eat, except to_the_priests, and he_gave to_them who/which when/with by_him they_were? )

2.26 Sub Abiathar, etc. Non te turbet quod alii dicunt Achimelech, ambo enim tunc illic aderant. Achimelech pater, et Abrathar filius: qui occiso patre a Saule, comes exsilii David factus est, et eo regnante summus pontifex majoris nominis quam pater: et ideo dignus cujus Dominus mentionem faceret, quasi summi sacerdotis, etiam patre vivente. Panes propositionis. BEDA. Quasi dicat: Si David et Achimelech a nobis non reprehenduntur, sed pro fame excusantur, cur in his causam improbatis quam in cæteris probatis? quamvis sit, etc., usque ad et omnes filii Ecclesiæ sacerdotes sunt, juncti in sacerdotium sanctum, offerentes seipsos spirituales hostias Deo. Et dedit eis. Hoc secutus. Misericordiam volo, et non sacrificium Ose. 6.: melius judicavit a famis periculo homines liberare quam sacrificium offerre. Hostia Deo placabilis, hominum salus.

2.26 Under Abiathar, etc. Not/No you(sg) disturb that others they_say Achimelech, ambo because then there aderant. Achimelech father, and Abrathar son: who/which occiso to_his_father from Saule, comes exsilii David became it_is, and by_him while_reigning highest/supreme priest olders of_the_name how father: and therefore/for_that_reason worthy whose Master mention would_do, as_if highest of_the_priest, also to_his_father while_alive. Panes proposition. BEDA. As_if let_him_say: When/But_if David and Achimelech from us not/no reprehenduntur, but for hunger excusantur, cur in/into/on his cause improbatis how in/into/on the_rests approvesis? although/however be, etc., until to and everyone children Assemblies/Churches priests are, yuncti in/into/on priesthood holy, offering themselves spiritual sacrifices to_God. And he_gave to_them. This followed. Mercym I_want, and not/no sacrifice Hos. 6.: better judged from famis periculo people/men to_free how sacrifice to_offer. Hostia to_God placable/agreeables, of_men health/safety.

UGNT πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἀβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως, καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς Προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστιν φαγεῖν, εἰ μὴ τοὺς ἱερεῖς; καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ οὖσιν?
(pōs eisaʸlthen eis ton oikon tou Theou epi Abiathar arⱪiereōs, kai tous artous taʸs Protheseōs efagen, hous ouk exestin fagein, ei maʸ tous hiereis; kai edōken kai tois sun autōi ousin?)

SBL-GNT ⸀πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἀβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστιν φαγεῖν εἰ μὴ ⸂τοὺς ἱερεῖς⸃, καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ οὖσιν;
(⸀pōs eisaʸlthen eis ton oikon tou theou epi Abiathar arⱪiereōs kai tous artous taʸs protheseōs efagen, hous ouk exestin fagein ei maʸ ⸂tous hiereis⸃, kai edōken kai tois sun autōi ousin;)

RP-GNT Πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἀβιάθαρ ἀρχιερέως, καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστιν φαγεῖν εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν, καὶ ἔδωκεν καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ οὖσιν;
(Pōs eisaʸlthen eis ton oikon tou theou epi Abiathar arⱪiereōs, kai tous artous taʸs protheseōs efagen, hous ouk exestin fagein ei maʸ tois hiereusin, kai edōken kai tois sun autōi ousin;)

TC-GNT Πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἀβιάθαρ [fn]ἀρχιερέως, καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστι φαγεῖν εἰ μὴ [fn]τοῖς ἱερεῦσι, καὶ ἔδωκε καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ οὖσι;
(Pōs eisaʸlthen eis ton oikon tou Theou epi Abiathar arⱪiereōs, kai tous artous taʸs protheseōs efagen, hous ouk exesti fagein ei maʸ tois hiereusi, kai edōke kai tois sun autōi ousi; )

2:26 αρχιερεως 83% ¦ του αρχιερεως TR 16.2%

2:26 τοις ιερευσι ¦ τους ιερεις ECM NA SBL WH

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:23–28: Jesus and religious leaders disagreed about the rest day

In the Old Testament God commanded the Jewish people to rest on the seventh day of each week. They called this day the “Sabbath.” The Pharisees made many strict rules about what people were not allowed to do on the Sabbath.

In this section, Jesus allowed his disciples to pick and eat grain on the Sabbath. Some Pharisees saw the disciples doing that and rebuked Jesus. Jesus told the Pharisees a story about King David to show them that the way they thought about the Sabbath was wrong. He told them that he had the authority to decide what was right or wrong to do on the Sabbath.

Here are some other possible section headings:

Jesus taught that he had authority over what is done on the rest day

Jesus taught the true meaning of the Sabbath day

This story also occurs in Matthew 12:1–8 and Luke 6:1–5.

2:26a

During the high priesthood of Abiathar,

During the time of Abiathar, the leader of the priests,
In the lifetime of the ruling priest, Abiathar,
Jesus told them that in the time when Abiathar, the high priest, was alive,

During the high priesthood of Abiathar: The phrase During the high priesthood of Abiathar refers to Abiathar’s lifetime or to the general time period when he became high priest. The name of the high priest who gave the bread to David was Ahimelech. After Ahimelech died, his son Abiathar became high priest for David. In your translation it is good to use a general expression that does not say explicitly that Abiathar was the high priest at this time. For example, the NCV says:

During the time of Abiathar the high priest

high priesthood: The Greek word that the BSB translates as high priesthood is literally “high priest.” The “high priest” was the leader of all the Jewish priests. All Jewish priests offered sacrifices on behalf of the people, but the high priest offered certain special sacrifices that no other priest could offer. In a special way, he represented the Jewish people to God.

Here are some other ways to translate “high priest”:

the chief/leader of all the priests

the Main/Principal Priest

the highest/leading priest

See how you translated priest at 1:44b.

priests: Jewish priests were men who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. They also performed other rituals for them.

Here are some other ways to translate priests:

Use a descriptive term that focuses on the function of priests. For example:
sacrificers
men/people who offer sacrifices to God
people who represent other people to God
Use a local word for priest. This option may be acceptable if the duties of a local priest are similar to those of a Jewish priest. You may need to indicate that the word refers to a Jewish priest. 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. Remember that in the book of Hebrews believers are called priests and Christ is called our high priest.

2:26b

he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread,

David went into the house of God, and he ate some of the bread that the priests had dedicated to God.
David went into the tent where people worshiped God. There he ate the bread that the priests had offered to God,

the house of God: The house of God was a Jewish expression that could refer to either the tabernacle or the temple. In this context, it refers to the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a tent that was like a portable temple. It was the place where the Jewish people presented sacrifices to God and where God revealed his presence to them.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

God’s house/dwelling

the big tent where our ancestors worshiped God

God: See the note on 2:7.

ate the consecrated bread: In the story in 1 Samuel 21:1–6, David asked the priest for the bread, and the priest gave it to him. This information is not mentioned explicitly in this verse. Your readers might think that David stole the bread and ate it. If that is true, you may need to make explicit that the priest gave it to him or to mention this fact in a footnote. For example:

ate the consecrated bread that the priest gave him

the consecrated bread: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the consecrated bread refers to the bread that the priests offered or presented to God. 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 sacred/holy bread

the bread offered to God (GNT)

special bread (NLT96)

It may also be helpful to include a footnote to explain this. For example, the TRT suggests this footnote:

Every Sabbath/resting day twelve fresh loaves of bread were put on a gold table in the Holy Place as a sacrifice to God. The old loaves were eaten by the priests (see Leviticus 24:5–9).

bread: The word bread refers to the main food of the Jewish people. Other ways to translate this could be “loaf” or “loaf of bread.” If the people for whom you are translating do not eat bread, you could translate this with a generic term, such as “food.” Since this refers to a specific Jewish tradition, do not substitute another specific kind of food.

2:26c

which was lawful only for the priests.

You^(plur) know that the law says that only the priests may eat it.
even though our^(incl) Jewish law says that it is unlawful for ordinary people to eat it; only priests may eat it.
which was lawful only for the priests to eat.

was lawful only for the priests: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as was lawful only for the priests is literally “not lawful/permitted for anyone to eat except the priests.”

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

not lawful for any but the priests to eat (RSV)

against the law for any but the priests to eat (NET)

no one but a priest is allowed to eat it

lawful: The word lawful here means “permitted.” In this context it refers to what the Jewish religious and ceremonial law allowed. The law about the dedicated bread is stated in the Law of Moses (see Leviticus 24:9).

priests: The term priests means men who were authorized to offer sacrifices to God for the people. Refer to the term you used for priests in 1:44b.

2:26d

And he gave some to his companions as well.”

Then David gave some of the bread to his friends and they ate it also.”
David even gave some of the bread offered to God to his men.”
Jesus told them that David even gave some of this bread to his men.

In this part of the verse Jesus told the part of David’s story that was similar to what he and his disciples were doing. Like David, Jesus was allowing his disciples to break a rule, and he had the authority to do that.

And he gave some to his companions as well: In this clause, Jesus finished his story about what David did. The clause implies that although David gave some consecrated bread to his companions, it was not wrong. God did not punish him for it. You may need to make this explicit in your translation. For example:

He also gave some of the bread to his companions and they ate it too. But God did not punish David for doing that.

He even gave some to his companions and they also ate it. But what David did was not wrong.

he: The pronoun he refers to David.

gave some: The BSB has supplied the object some, meaning “some consecrated bread.” The Greek text does not have an explicit object of gave. You should supply an object if it is natural in your language.

his companions: Use the same term for his companions as you used in 2:25b.

as well: The Greek word that the BSB translates as as well is emphatic here. It means “even.” David even gave some of the bread that only priests should eat to his companions, who were ordinary people.

General Comment on 2:25–26

In Greek these verses are one long sentence. In some languages, it may be necessary to use shorter sentences. It also may be necessary to reorder some of the information and perhaps to combine 2:25–26. For example:

^25aJesus said: “Have you not read what our ancestor David did long ago ^26awhen Abiathar was High Priest? ^25bWhen David and his friends were hungry, ^26bhe entered into the worship house and ate the bread that was dedicated to God, ^26dand he also distributed it to his companions. ^26cAccording to our religious laws, it is only priests who are allowed to eat that bread.”

If you combine these verses you can use a combined verse number (25–26) at the beginning of 2:25.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / go

εἰσῆλθεν

˱he˲_came_in

In a context such as this, your language might say “came” instead of went. Alternate translation: [he came]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τόν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπί Ἀβιαθάρ ἀρχιερέως καί τούς ἄρτους τῆς Προθέσεως ἔφαγεν οὕς οὐκ ἔξεστιν φαγεῖν εἰ μή τούς ἱερεῖς καί ἔδωκεν καί τοῖς σύν αὐτῷ οὖσιν)

Here Jesus uses the phrase the house of God to refer to the tabernacle, the place where God’s presence was. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [the tabernacle] or [the sanctuary]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

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 loaves of bread that were placed in God’s presence every morning]

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-exceptions

οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστιν φαγεῖν, εἰ μὴ τοὺς ἱερεῖς