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 have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? 6But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” 9Departing from there, He went into 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

• But ifεἰei · ifG1487
• you had knownγινώσκωginōskō · to knowG1097
• whatτίςtis · which?G5101
• meansεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• I desireθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• compassionἔλεοςeleos · mercyG1656
• ratherοὐou · noG3756
• thanκαίkai · andG2532
• sacrificeθυσίαthusia · sacrificeG2378
• the innocentἀναίτιοςanaitios · innocentG338

Cross-references for Matthew 12:7

• Matthew 9:13Now go and learn what this means: ‘I desire compassion, rather than sacrifice,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
• Matthew 22:29But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, since you do not understand the Scriptures nor the power of God.
• Acts 13:27For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the declarations of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.
• Isaiah 1:11“What are your many sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fattened cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.
• Hosea 6:6For I desire loyalty rather than sacrifice, And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
• Micah 6:6With what shall I come to the Lord And bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, With yearling calves?
• Job 32:3And his anger burned against his three friends because they had found no answer, yet they had condemned Job.
• Psalms 94:21They band themselves 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 judge his soul.
• Proverbs 17:15One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous, Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
• James 5:6You have condemned and put to death the righteous person; 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

• 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