Chapter 15

The Tradition of the Elders.^{[a] 1 (A)}Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ^2 (B)“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?^[b] They do not wash [their] hands when they eat a meal.” ³ He said to them in reply, “And why do you break the commandment of God^[c] for the sake of your tradition? ^4 (C)For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ ^5 [d]But you say, ‘Whoever says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is dedicated to God,” ⁶ need not honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:

^10 (F)He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. ¹¹ It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.”

Chapter 7

The Tradition of the Elders.^{[a] 1} Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,^{(A) 2} they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. ³ (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands,^[b] keeping the tradition of the elders. ⁴ And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) ⁵ So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders^[c] but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” ⁶ He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:^(B)

⁸ You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” ⁹ He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’^{(C) 11} Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’^[d] (meaning, dedicated to God), ¹² you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. ¹³ You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.”

²⁰ If you died with Christ to the elemental powers of the world, why do you submit to regulations as if you were still living in the world? ²¹ “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!” ²² These are all things destined to perish with use; they accord with human precepts and teachings.^{(A) 23} While they have a semblance of wisdom in rigor of devotion and self-abasement [and] severity to the body, they are of no value against gratification of the flesh.