Section 12:1–14
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath
There are two main events in this section. One is about picking grain on the Sabbath. The other is about healing on the Sabbath. These two events show that Jesus has the authority to decide which deeds are acceptable to do on the Sabbath.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Jesus showed that he has authority over Sabbath rules
-or-
Lord of the Sabbath (New International Version)
-or-
The Pharisees criticize Jesus because of what he did on the Sabbath
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 2:23–3:6 and Luke 6:1–11.
Paragraph 12:1–2
12:1a
At that time…on the Sabbath: The phrase At that time indicates that this story probably took place soon after the events in chapter 11. (This same phrase occurs in 11:25a.) The Greek does not indicate how much time passed between these two chapters. It could have been several days or several weeks.
Here are some other ways to translate these phrases:
• Translate both phrases. For example:
Not long afterward Jesus was walking through some wheat fields on a Sabbath. (Good News Translation)
• Combine the two phrases into one. For example:
One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields.
Jesus: The disciples are not mentioned until 12:1b, but they were certainly walking together with Jesus. In some languages, it may be more natural to mention the disciples here in 12:1a. For example:
Jesus and his disciples (Contemporary English Version)
went through the grainfields: Jesus and his disciples were probably walking on a path that had grainfields on both sides. They were not trampling on the crops or trespassing on private property.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
walking through some fields of grain (New Century Version)
-or-
walking ⌊on a path⌋ and passing through some fields of grain
grainfields: These were areas of land where the people grew wheat or barley or a similar type of grain. The areas were probably a hectare (100 meters wide by 100 meters long) or more in size. They used the grain for making bread and other food.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
• Use your term for field and a general term for grain. For example:
fields of grain (New Century Version)
• Use your term for field and a specific type of grain. For example:
wheat fields (Good News Translation)
-or-
barley farms
-or-
fields where people grew something like millet/rice
• Use a general expression for a field where people grow crops for food. For example:
cultivated fields
-or-
fields/land for growing food
-or-
farms/gardens
the Sabbath: The word Sabbath is the name of the seventh and last day of the week for the Jews. The Sabbath was the special day of the week when the Jews rested and worshiped God. The Law of Moses said that the Jews must not do any work on that day (Deuteronomy 5:12–15).
Here are some other ways to translate Sabbath:
• Translate the meaning. For example:
the rest day
-or-
the ⌊Jewish⌋ day for resting
• Transliterate the word Sabbath and spell it using the sounds of your language. For example:
Sabat
-or-
Sabati
If you transliterate the word Sabbath, you may also want to:
(a) Include a phrase to explain the meaning, at least the first time it occurs. For example:
the Sabat, the ⌊Jews’⌋ rest day
(b) Explain the meaning of the word in a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:
The word Sabat is the name of the seventh and last day of the week for the Jews. The Sabat was the special day of the week when the Jews rested and worshiped God.
Be careful that the term you choose is not confused with Sunday. The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and went until sundown on Saturday.
12:1b
His disciples: For help in translating this term, see the note in 8:21a. See also disciple in the Glossary.
12:1c
began to pick the heads of grain: The phrase pick the heads of grain means “pull/pick clusters of seeds off the stalk of the grain plants.” Grain plants like wheat and barley grow clusters of seeds on the top of a stalk. These clusters are the heads of grain.
The disciples snapped off the heads of grain with their fingers. They did not use tools.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
began to pull off the seeds
-or-
started to pick the grains from the stalk
According to Luke 6:1c, after the disciples picked the grains, they rubbed them in their hands. They did this to remove the thin husk that surrounds the grain before they ate it. In some languages, it may be natural to make some of this information explicit. For example:
began to pick some heads of grain ⌊and remove the husk⌋
and eat them: The disciples ate the grain raw. In some languages, there is a specific word for eating grain, or eating uncooked grain.
Here is an example in English:
and crunched it
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