Amplified Bible
Matthew 12:7
7And if you had only known what this statement means, ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
Matthew 12:7 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
- New International Version (NIV)If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
Context of Matthew 12:7
5Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break [the sanctity of] the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. And if you had only known what this statement means, ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” 9Leaving there, He went into their synagogue.
Read all of Matthew 12Matthew 12:7 word by word
εἰ δὲ ἐγνώκειτε τί ἐστιν· ἔλεος θέλω καὶ οὐ θυσίαν, οὐκ ἂν κατεδικάσατε τοὺς ἀναιτίους.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Butδέde · thenG1161
- ifεἰei · ifG1487
- ye had knownγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
- whatτίςtis · which?G5101
- meanethεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- I will haveθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
- mercyἔλεοςeleos · mercyG1656
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- notοὐou · noG3756
- sacrificeθυσίαthusia · sacrificeG2378
- yeκαταδικάζωkatadikazō · to condemnG2613
- wouldἄνan · ifG302
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the guiltlessἀναίτιοςanaitios · innocentG338
Cross-references for Matthew 12:7
- Matthew 9:13Go and learn what this [Scripture] means: ‘I desire compassion [for those in distress], and not [animal] sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].”
- Matthew 22:29But Jesus replied to them, “You are all wrong because you know neither the Scriptures [which teach the resurrection] nor the power of God [for He is able to raise the dead].
- Acts 13:27For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, who failed to recognize or understand both Jesus and the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled these [very prophecies] by condemning Him.
- Isaiah 1:11“What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me [without your repentance]?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of [your] burnt offerings of rams And the fat of well-fed cattle [without your obedience]; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats [offered without repentance].
- Hosea 6:6For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
- Micah 6:6With what shall I come before the Lord [to honor Him] And bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves?
- Job 32:3Elihu’s anger burned against Job’s three friends because they had found no answer [and were unable to determine Job’s error], and yet they had condemned Job and declared him to be in the wrong [and responsible for his own afflictions].
- Psalms 94:21They band themselves together against the life of the righteous And condemn the innocent to death.
- Psalms 109:31For He will stand at the right hand of the needy, To save him from those who judge his soul.
- Proverbs 17:15He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous Are both repulsive to the Lord.
- James 5:6You have condemned and have put to death the righteous man; he offers you no resistance.
Commentaries on Matthew 12:7
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7I will have mercy, etc. - See this explained, Matthew 9:13. There are four ways in which positive laws may cease to oblige. First, by the natural law of necessity. Secondly, by a particular law, which is superior. Thirdly, by the law of charity and mercy. Fourthly, by the dispensation and authority of the Lawgiver. These cases are all exemplified from Matthew 12:4-8.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7The Pharisees misunderstood the meaning of the Sabbath. Their view went against Scripture because it ignored the greater principle of mercy.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice--(Ho 6:6; Mi 6:6-8, &c.). See on Mt 9:13. ye would not have condemned the guiltless--that is, Had ye understood the great principle of all religion, which the Scripture everywhere recognizes--that ceremonial observances must give way before moral duties, and particularly the necessities of nature--ye would have refrained from these captious complaints against men who in this…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 12:7
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 12
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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