Bible Strands
Mark 2:27
Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus is answering Pharisaic criticism of his disciples for plucking grain on the Sabbath, immediately after citing David's consumption of the showbread (2:25–26).
The words — διὰ (dia), "on account of," is the structural hinge: it sets the direction of purpose, so that the Sabbath exists "on account of" man rather than man "on account of" the Sabbath.
The thread — Deuteronomy 5:14 grounds the Sabbath in the LORD's claim on Israel; Luke 6:9 poses the same lawful/unlawful question in a different form; Colossians 2:16 removes Sabbath observance as a criterion by which believers may be judged.
Why it lands — The verse asks whether any rule, ritual, or institution has been quietly promoted from servant to master in the reader's life.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Cross-references
- Colossians 2:16 Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath.
- Luke 6:9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
- Deuteronomy 5:14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do.
- Ezekiel 20:12 I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
- Isaiah 58:13 If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath, from doing as you please on My holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the LORD’s holy day honorable, if you honor it by not going your own way or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,
- Exodus 23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.
- Ezekiel 20:20 Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’
- John 7:23 If a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses will not be broken, why are you angry with Me for making the whole man well on the Sabbath?
- Nehemiah 9:13 You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
- 1 Corinthians 3:21 Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours,