12:7a–c

Before you translate 12:7, carefully consider the most natural way in your language to order the clauses. In some languages, it will be more natural to put 12:7b before 12:7a. For example:

bThe scripture says, ‘It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.’ aIf you really knew what this means, cyou would not condemn people who are not guilty…. (Good News Translation)

12:7a

If only you had known the meaning of: This clause is an “if” clause. Jesus used this “if clause” to rebuke the Pharisees. He rebuked them because they did not know/understand the true meaning of the quote in 12:7b, but they should have understood it. They knew the quote, but they did not understand how to apply it in their everyday lives.

Here are some other ways to translate this rebuke:

• As an “if” clause. For example:

If you really knew what this means (Good News Translation)
-or-
If you had grasped the meaning of the scripture (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Don’t you know what the Scriptures mean when they say…? (Contemporary English Version)

• As a statement plus an “if” clause. For example:

You don’t really know what those words mean. If you understood them… (New Century Version)

Translate this rebuke in a way that is most natural in your language.

the meaning of: The words the meaning of refer to the significance of the words that follow in 12:7b. 12:7b is from Hosea 6:6. You may want to introduce 12:7b indicating that God spoke these words. For example:

these words ⌊of God⌋
-or-
the following words ⌊that God spoke in Scripture⌋

12:7b

I desire mercy, not sacrifice: This is a quote from Hosea. (This quote also occurs in 9:13b.) It is a comparison of two things: mercy and sacrifice. It means that God considers it more important for people to show mercy to other people than for them to follow the laws concerning sacrifices. It does not mean that God wanted his people to stop offering sacrifices.

In some languages, it may be more natural to express this comparison in another way. For example:

I want you (plur.) to show mercy ⌊to each other⌋. ⌊That is⌋ more ⌊important⌋ than your sacrifices ⌊to me⌋.
-or-
I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices. (New Century Version)

mercy: The word mercy means “compassion” or “concern” or “pity” towards someone else. For example:

compassion (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
kindness (New Century Version)

In some languages it may be necessary to indicate who should have mercy and to whom. For example:

I want you to be merciful to others. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I want people to pity/love others.

sacrifice: The word sacrifice refers to the killing of animals at the temple and offering them to God. God required the Jews to offer animal sacrifices to him regularly.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

animal sacrifices (Good News Translation)
-or-
offering sacrifices to me (Contemporary English Version)

12:7c

you would not have condemned: The word condemned means “judge and call guilty or evil.” The Pharisees condemned the disciples when they said that the disciples had broken the Sabbath law. Jesus said that the Pharisees should not have condemned his disciples.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

you would not judge (New Century Version)
-or-
you would not blame/criticize
-or-
you would not find guilty
-or-
you would not decide/say ⌊that they are⌋ lawbreakers

the innocent: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates the innocent means “people who are not guilty of a crime or sin.”

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

those who have not broken the law
-or-
these innocent disciples of mine (Contemporary English Version)

-or-

those who have done nothing wrong (New Century Version)

© 2023 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.