Exegesis:
kai apokritheis pros autous eipen ho Iēsous ‘and in answer Jesus said to them.’ As in 5.30 Jesus answers to a question which is directed to his disciples.
oude touto anegnōte ho epoiēsen Dauid ‘have you not even read what David did?’ The use of oude ‘not even’ in this question appears to imply slight reproach (cf. e.g. Translator’s New Testament).
hote epeinasen autos kai hoi met’ autou [ontes] ‘when he was hungry himself and those who were with him.’ For the story to which Jesus refers cf. 1 Sam. 21.6.
(V. 4) [hōs] eisēlthen eis ton oikon tou theou ‘how he went into the house of God.’ The clause explains touto ho epoiēsen Dauid ‘that which David did’ in v. 3 and is also in the form of an indirect question.
ho oikos tou theou ‘the house of God,’ in the time of David the Tabernacle, not the Temple.
kai tous artous tēs protheseōs labōn ephagen kai edōken tois met’ autou ‘and after taking the loaves of the presentation ate (them) and gave (them) to those with him.’ As explained there the accurate meaning of the phrase is ‘bread of the Presence (of God).’ prothesis.
hous ouk exestin phagein ei mē monous tous hiereis ‘which it is not permitted to eat except only the priests.’ hous refers back to tous artous. tous hiereis is the subject of phagein.
Translation:
The two verses are variously read and punctuated, see GOOD NEWS BIBLE and punctuation apparatus. For translational purposes they are often best divided in two or more sentences, the first introducing, the rest stating and elaborating, the case referred to, e.g. ‘you have read what D. did haven’t you? Once he and those with him were hungry. He entered…’ (cf. Ekari).
Not, preferably, ‘not even.’ The emphasis on the negation can sometimes be expressed by a verbal form adverbially used, e.g. ‘I-should-think’ (Batak Toba), or by an intensifying affix.
Read, see on 4.16.
He was hungry, he and those who were with him. It is usually preferable to say, ‘he and those (who were) with him (or, his companions) were hungry.’ For hungry see on 4.2b. In Balinese a double translation is required, ‘when he was faint (honorific for ‘hungry’) and his followers were hungry (non-honorific).’
(V. 4) House of God, or, ‘house for God’; Balinese has ‘house lodging-place of God,’ adding the term for the shrines into which the gods are believed to descend during a temple festival. Cf. also on “my Father’s house” in 2.49. Where ‘house of God’ is used specifically, or even exclusively, with reference to the temple in Jerusalem a qualifying phrase may be useful, e.g. ‘in (the city of) Nob.’
Bread of the Presence. A rather literal rendering is possible in Toraja-Sa’dan, which combines the word ‘bread’ with a derivation of the verb ‘to stand-in-front-of/be-in-the-presence-of/wait-upon (someone in exalted position).’ Other, somewhat freer renderings are, ‘bread to-do-homage’ (Tae’), ‘holy bread’ (Pohnpeian, Trukese, cf. the Hebrew term in 1 Sam. 21.4ff), ‘consecrated loaves’ (New English Bible), ‘placed bread’ (Ekari), ‘church-bread’ (Sranan Tongo, where ‘church’ has acquired a more generic connotation). For bread in general cf. references on 4.3.
Which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat is in the Greek separated from its antecedent, ‘bread of the Presence’ by ‘and gave (it) to those with him.’ By keeping too closely to the clause to the clause order of the original some translators have led the ordinary receptor to take David’s men, and not the bread/loaves, as the object of the priests’ eating. To avoid such a misunderstanding one may shift the relative clause so that it directly follows its antecedent (cf. e.g. Revised Standard Version, Pohnpeian), or repeat ‘bread/loaves’ directly before the relative clause (Bible de Jérusalem, Trukese, Sranan Tongo, Malay); or again, one may use a co-ordinated sentence, e.g. ‘As-a-matter-of-fact nobody is allowed to eat it except…’ (Javanese), “Yet it is against our Law for anyone to eat it except…” (Good News Translation). For priests see references on 1.5.
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.