6:3–4
In 6:3–4 Jesus responded to the Pharisees’ accusation by referring to a story about King David, who had lived long before.
This story is found in 1 Samuel 21:1–6. This story was a good illustration for what Jesus wanted to say to the Pharisees. David was fleeing from King Saul. He and his men were hungry.
They came to the tabernacle, and David asked the high priest for food. The only food available was the consecrated bread. Only priests were allowed to eat that bread. However, the high priest gave the bread to David and his men to eat. Even though David did something that was not allowed, God did not punish him or his men.
In order for people to understand this story, they need to know this background information. It may be necessary to include footnotes in your translation to explain it. You may also need to make some of the implied information explicit in the text. The notes on these verses will give suggestions.
In Greek, 6:3–4 is one long question. It is a rhetorical question.
Some English versions translate 6:3–4 as one long, rhetorical question. For example:
3And Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” (Revised Standard Version)
The Berean Standard Bible and other English versions translate 6:3–4 as a rhetorical question and a statement. For example:
3Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his men were hungry? 4He went into the house of God, took the bread offered to God, ate it, and gave it also to his men. Yet it is against our Law for anyone except the priests to eat that bread.” (Good News Translation)
You should translate this long, rhetorical question in a way that is natural in your language.
6:3a
Jesus replied: In this verse, Jesus answered the question that the Pharisees asked his disciples in 6:2. Jesus understood that the Pharisees were criticizing him when they asked the disciples about their picking grain. Therefore, even though the Pharisees did not mention Jesus in 6:2, Jesus responded to their question.
You should introduce Jesus’ answer in a natural way in your translation. You may need to make explicit that Jesus heard the question. For example:
⌊Hearing their question,⌋ Jesus, said to them
6:3b
Have you not read what David did: The clause Have you not read what David did introduces the rhetorical question. Jesus used this rhetorical question to rebuke the Pharisees. He rebuked them because they accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath laws. The Pharisees had knowledge about the law but not a true understanding of it.
Some ways to translate the beginning of this rhetorical question are:
• As a question. For example:
Haven’t you ever read what David did…? (God’s Word)
-or-
Didn’t you understand what you read about ⌊the time when⌋ David…?
• As a statement. For example:
You surely have read what David did (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
You speak as if you have never read what David did
-or-
It cannot be that you have not read in the Scriptures about what King David did
Translate the rhetorical question in an appropriate way in your language for this context.
read: Jesus referred to something the Pharisees would have read in the Scriptures. If your readers would not understand that this story is in the Scriptures, you may need to supply this information. For example:
Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did…? (New Living Translation (2004))
David: David was a king of Israel. He lived many years before Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees and the other Jewish people had great respect for David. This story happened in David’s early life, before he became king. If your readers are not familiar with the life of David, you should include some information about him in a footnote.
6:3c
when he and his companions were hungry: This clause introduces a particular situation in David’s life. David and his companions were hungry and needed food. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to compare that situation with his disciples picking grain on the Sabbath.
his companions: David’s companions were the men who were with him at the time. Some other ways to translate this are:
his men (God’s Word)
-or-
his followers (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
those with him (New Century Version)
© 2009, 2010, 2013 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.