Matthew 15:1-6

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Tradition of the Elders

15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.”^{(A) 3} He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God said,^[a] ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’^{(B) 5} But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’^[b] then that person need not honor the father.^{[c](C) 6} So, for the sake of your tradition, you nullify the word^[d] of God.