Matthew 12 · Verse 11

Matthew 12:11

And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

Matthew 12:11, King James Version

Matthew 12:11 in other translations

BSB	He replied, “If one of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?
WEB	He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it and lift it out?
ASV	And he said unto them, What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
YLT	And he said to them, ‘What man shall be of you, who shall have one sheep, and if this may fall on the sabbaths into a ditch, will not lay hold on it and raise it?
DARBY	But he said to them, What man shall there be of you who has one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath, will not lay hold of it and raise it up?
BBE	And he said to them, Which of you, having a sheep, if it gets into a hole on the Sabbath day, will not put out a helping hand and get it back?
Webster	And he said to them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it shall fall into a pit on the sabbath, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

What does Matthew 12:11 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

11. And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes

Verse 11.

(u) "and if it fall" De 22:4

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 11 If it fall into a pit on the Sabbath - day, etc. - It was a canon among the Jews: "We must take a tender care of the goods of an Israelite." Hence: - "If a beast fall into a ditch, or into a pool of water, let (the owner) bring him food in that place if he can; but, if he cannot, let him bring clothes and litter, and bear up the beast; whence, if he can come up, let him come up, etc." "If a beast or its foal fall into a ditch on a holy day, R. Lazar saith, Let him lift up the former to kill him, and let him kill him; but let him give fodder to the other, lest he die in that place. R. Joshua saith, Let him lift up the former with the intention of killing him, although he kill him not; let him lift up the other also, although it be not in his mind to kill him." To these canons our Lord seems here very properly to appeal, in vindication of his intention to heal the distressed man. See Lightfoot. Self-interest is a very decisive casuist, and removes abundance of scruples in a moment. It is always the first consulted, and the must readily obeyed. It is not sinful to hearken to it, but it must not govern nor determine by itself.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 12:9-13

Christ shows that works of mercy are lawful and proper to be done on the Lord's day. There are more ways of doing well upon sabbath days, than by the duties of worship: attending the sick, relieving the poor, helping those who need speedy relief, teaching the young to care for their souls; these are doing good: and these must be done from love and charity, with humility and self-denial, and shall be accepted, Ge…

Read the full comment on Matthew 12:9-13 →

Matthew 12:11 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ὉHoHeG3588

δὲdethenG1161

εἶπενeipensaidG2036

αὐτοῖς·autoisto them;G846

τίςtisWhoG5101

ἔσταιestaiwill there beG1510

ἐξexamongG1537

ὑμῶνhumōnyouG4771

ἄνθρωποςanthrōposmanG444

ὃςhoswhoG3739

ἕξειhexeiwill haveG2192

πρόβατονprobatonsheepG4263

ἓν,henone,G1520

καὶkaiandG2532

ἐὰνeanifG1437

ἐμπέσῃempesēshall fallG1706

τοῦτοtoutoitG3778

τοῖςtoison theG3588

σάββασινsabbasinSabbathsG4521

εἰςeisintoG1519

βόθυνον,bothunona pit,G999

οὐχὶouchisurelyG3780

κρατήσειkratēseihe will take hold ofG2902

αὐτὸautoitG846

καὶkaiandG2532

ἐγερεῖ;egereiwill raise [it] up?G1453

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 12:11

Deuteronomy 22:4
Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ass or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again.
Luke 14:5
And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?
Luke 13:15-17
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.
Exodus 23:4-5
If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

what.This was an {argumentum ad hominem.} The Jews held that such things were lawful on the sabbath day, and our Saviour very properly appealed to their canons in vindication of his intention to heal the distressed man.
Lu 13:15-17; 14:5
and if.
Ex 23:4,5; De 22:4

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Matthew 12:10
And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
Matthew 12:11
And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
Matthew 12:12
How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

Read all of Matthew 12

Matthew 12:11 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y él les dijo: ¿Qué hombre habrá de vosotros, que tenga una oveja, y si cayere ésta en una fosa en sábado, no le eche mano, y la levante?
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Mais il leur dit: Quel sera l’homme d’entre vous, qui aura une brebis, et qui, si elle vient à tomber dans une fosse un jour de sabbat, ne la prendra et ne la relèvera pas?
German Elberfelder 1871	Er aber sprach zu ihnen: Welcher Mensch wird unter euch sein, der ein Schaf hat und, wenn dieses am Sabbath in eine Grube fiele, es nicht ergreifen und aufrichten wird?
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Ipse autem dixit illis: Quis erit ex vobis homo, qui habeat ovem unam, et si ceciderit hæc sabbatis in foveam, nonne tenebit et levabit eam?