Matthew 15:1-9
Evangelical Heritage Version
Commandments and Traditions
15 Then the Pharisees and experts in the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For example, God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[a] and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of his father or mother should be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that if someone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might have received from me has been dedicated as a gift to God,’[c] 6 that man does not need to honor his father or his mother.[d] And so you set aside the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 These people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
9 They worship me in vain, teaching human rules as if they are doctrines.”[e]
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16
- Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17
- Matthew 15:5 See Mark 7:11.
- Matthew 15:6 A few witnesses to the text omit or his mother.
- Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13
Matthew 15:1-9
Lexham English Bible
Human Traditions and God’s Commandments
15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.”[a] 3 So he answered and[b] said to them, “Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your[c] father and your[d] mother,’[e] and ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die[f].’[g] 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his[h] father or his[i] mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received[j] from me is a gift to God,” 6 need not honor his father,’[k] and you make void the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah correctly prophesied about you saying,
8 ‘This people honors me with their[l] lips,
but their heart is far, far away from me,
9 and they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”[m]
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:2 Literally “bread”
- Matthew 15:3 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:4 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:4 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:4 A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16
- Matthew 15:4 Literally “let him die the death”
- Matthew 15:4 A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9
- Matthew 15:5 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:5 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:5 Literally “you would have been benefited”
- Matthew 15:6 Most later manuscripts add “or his mother”
- Matthew 15:8 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:9 A quotation from Isa 29:13
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