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So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law questioned Jesus. “Why don’t your disciples live by what the elders teach?” they asked. “Why do they eat their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”

He replied, “Isaiah was right. He prophesied about you people who pretend to be good. He said,

“ ‘These people honor me by what they say.
    But their hearts are far away from me.
Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me.
    They teach nothing but human rules.’ (Isaiah 29:13)

You have let go of God’s commands. And you are holding on to teachings that people have made up.”

Jesus continued speaking, “You have a fine way of setting aside God’s commands! You do this so you can follow your own teachings.

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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?”

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

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’[a](B)

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

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

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:7 Isaiah 29:13
  2. Mark 7:9 Some manuscripts set up