¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised,^(A) our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ¹⁵ More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.^(B) But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.^(C)

² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”^(A)

³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^[a](B) and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[b](C) 5} But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders^(A) instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”^(C)

⁹ And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe^[b] your own traditions!^(D)

⁸ Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?^(A)

¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous^(A) for the traditions of my fathers.^(B)

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,^(A) which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces^[a] of this world^(B) rather than on Christ.