Matthew 12:3-5

12:3 He ¹  said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry – 12:4 how he entered the house of God and they ate ²  the sacred bread, ³  which was against the law ⁴  for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests? ⁵  12:5 Or have you not read in the law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are not guilty?

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tc The Greek verb ἔφαγεν (efagen, “he ate”) is found in a majority of witnesses (Ì⁷⁰ C D L W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt sy co) in place of ἔφαγον (efagon, “they ate”), the wording found in א B pc. ἔφαγεν is most likely motivated by the parallels in Mark and Luke (both of which have the singular).

³ tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”

⁴ sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was against the law is one of analogy: “If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.” Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.

⁵ sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.