Section 2:23–28

Jesus and religious leaders disagreed about the rest day

In the Old Testament God commanded the Jewish people to rest on the seventh day of each week. They called this day the “Sabbath.” The Pharisees made many strict rules about what people were not allowed to do on the Sabbath.

In this section, Jesus allowed his disciples to pick and eat grain on the Sabbath. Some Pharisees saw the disciples doing that and rebuked Jesus. Jesus told the Pharisees a story about King David to show them that the way they thought about the Sabbath was wrong. He told them that he had the authority to decide what was right or wrong to do on the Sabbath.

Here are some other possible section headings:

Jesus taught that he had authority over what is done on the rest day
-or-
Jesus taught the true meaning of the Sabbath day

This story also occurs in Matthew 12:1–8 and Luke 6:1–5.

Paragraph 2:23–28

2:23a

One Sabbath: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as One Sabbath is literally “and it happened that on a Sabbath (rest day)….” This phrase introduces a new story or incident that happened one Sabbath day.

Sabbath: The word Sabbath is the name of the seventh and last day of the week for the Jews. This was the special day in the week when they rested and worshipped God.

Here are some other ways to translate Sabbath:

the Jewish rest day
-or-
the day for resting
-or-
the day to rest and worship God

If the word Sabbath is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may also want to include a phrase to explain the meaning. For example:

the Sabat, the Jews’ day for resting

See how you translated Sabbath at 1:21b.

Jesus was passing: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus was passing is literally “he was going.” Since 2:23 begins a new section, it is more natural in English to refer to Jesus by his name here. Use a natural way in your language to refer to him here.

In this verse Jesus was walking with his disciples. In some languages it may also be necessary to make explicit that Jesus’ disciples were with him. For example:

Jesus and his disciples were going

through the grainfields: There were public paths through the grainfields where people could walk without damaging the grain. Jesus and the disciples did not walk in a place where they were not allowed to go.

grainfields: The grainfields were fields, farms, or gardens where the people grew grain crops. This grain could have been wheat, barley, or a similar type of grain. (Notice that some English versions (King James Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible), following British English, call these “cornfields.” In these versions, “corn” has the general sense of “grain.” It does not refer to “maize” (which Americans call “corn”).)

Here are some ways to translate grainfields:

• Use an expression that includes your term for “grain.” For example:

wheat fields
-or-
barley farms
-or-
fields where people grew something like millet

• Use a general expression for a field where people grow crops for food. For example:

cultivated field
-or-
fields/land for growing food
-or-
farms

2:23b

and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along: Jesus’ disciples were plucking some of the grain to eat as they walked along. In the Old Testament, God allowed the Jewish people to do this in fields owned by fellow Jews. They were not allowed to harvest the grain in large amounts. See Deuteronomy 23:25.

disciples: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciples means “learners” who are in a relationship with a teacher. The learners commit themselves to their teacher in order to learn from him and live according to his teaching and example. In the New Testament disciples often lived with their teacher and followed him wherever he went.

Use the same term you used in 2:15b. See the note there and see also disciple in the Glossary.

pick the heads of grain: The phrase pick the heads of grain means “pluck clusters of seed off the stalks of the grain plants.” See also the following notes on “heads of grain” and “grain.”

heads of grain: Grains like wheat and barley have a stalk. On top of the stalk there are clusters of seeds. These clusters are the heads of grain. These grains could be eaten raw.

grain: The text does not say what sort of grain this was. If you must be specific, you could say “wheat” or “barley” since these were common in Israel. If wheat or barley are not known in your area, here are other options for translation:

• Use a general word for grain.

• Use a phrase that describes the grain as similar to a grain which is known in your area and which can be eaten raw. For example:

something like rice/millet

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