Matthew 12:7

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 haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent? 6But I tell you that One greater than the temple is here. If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” 9Moving on from there, Jesus entered their synagogue,

Matthew 12:7 word by word

εἰ δὲ ἐγνώκειτε τί ἐστιν· ἔλεος θέλω καὶ οὐ θυσίαν, οὐκ ἂν κατεδικάσατε τοὺς ἀναιτίους.Read the interlinear

• Ifεἰei · ifG1487
• onlyδέde · thenG1161
• you had knownγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• the meaning ofτίςtis · which?G5101
• the meaning ofεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• I desireθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• mercyἔλεοςeleos · mercyG1656
• ·καίkai · andG2532
• notοὐou · noG3756
• sacrificeθυσίαthusia · sacrificeG2378
• you would not have condemnedἄνan · ifG302
• you would not have condemnedκαταδικάζωkatadikazō · to condemnG2613
• theὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• innocentἀναίτιοςanaitios · innocentG338

Cross-references for Matthew 12:7

• Matthew 9:13But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
• Matthew 22:29Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
• Acts 13:27The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
• Isaiah 1:11“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
• Hosea 6:6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
• Micah 6:6With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
• Job 32:3and he burned with anger against Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute Job, and yet had condemned him.
• Psalms 94:21They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
• Psalms 109:31For He stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from the condemners of his soul.
• Proverbs 17:15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the righteous— both are detestable to the LORD.
• James 5:6You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.

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

• Accusation, False
• Ecclesiasticism
• Formalism
• Jesus, the Christ
• Justice
• Pharisees
• Quotations and Allusions
• Sabbath
• Tradition

In the dictionaries

• Adulterous
• Condemn
• Desolation
• Hosea, Prophecies of
• Idle
• Judgment
• Restore
• Sin
• Wither
• Guiltless

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