Mark 7:1-13

GOD’S WORD Translation

Jesus Challenges the Pharisees’ Traditions^(A)

7 The Pharisees and some experts in Moses’ Teachings who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. ² They saw that some of his disciples were unclean ^[a] because they ate without washing their hands.

³ (The Pharisees, like all other Jewish people, don’t eat unless they have properly washed their hands. They follow the traditions of their ancestors. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace, they don’t eat unless they have washed first. They have been taught to follow many other rules. For example, they must also wash their cups, jars, brass pots, and dinner tables.^[b])

⁵ The Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples follow the traditions taught by our ancestors? They are unclean because they don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

⁶ Jesus told them, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites in Scripture:

⁸ “You abandon the commandments of God to follow human traditions.” ⁹ He added, “You have no trouble rejecting the commandments of God in order to keep your own traditions! ¹⁰ For example, Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a person tells his father or mother that whatever he might have used to help them is corban (that is, an offering to God), ¹² he no longer has to do anything for his father or mother.’ ¹³ Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word. And you do many other things like that.”