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 Sabbath days the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? 6I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. If you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” 9Moving on from there, he 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

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 means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
• Matthew 22:29Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God.
• Acts 13:27Since the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize him or the sayings of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, they have fulfilled their words by condemning him.
• Isaiah 1:11“What are all your sacrifices to me?” asks the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats.
• Hosea 6:6For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
• Micah 6:6What should I bring before the Lord when I come to bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
• Job 32:3He was also angry at Job’s three friends because they had failed to refute him and yet had condemned him.
• Psalms 94:21They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
• Psalms 109:31For he stands at the right hand of the needy to save him from those who would condemn him.
• Proverbs 17:15Acquitting the guilty and condemning the just — both are detestable to the Lord.
• James 5:6You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who does 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