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

²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law,^(A) Christ died for nothing!”^[a]

¹⁶ “We will not listen^(A) to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord!^{(B) 17} We will certainly do everything we said we would:^(C) We will burn incense^(D) to the Queen of Heaven^(E) and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials^(F) did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem.^(G) At that time we had plenty of food^(H) and were well off and suffered no harm.^(I)

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](A) and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[b](B) 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.

¹³ The Lord says:

¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God^(A) by your tradition^(B) that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.^(A)