Matthew 15:1-20
The Tradition of the Elders
1 Then(A) Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked,(B)
2 “Why do Your disciples(C) break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat!”(a)(D)
3 He answered them, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition?
4 For God said:(b)
5 But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple”—
6 he does not have to honor his father.’(e) In this way, you have revoked God’s word(f) because of your tradition.
7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:
Defilement Is from Within
10 Summoning the crowd, He told them, “Listen and understand:
11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles(H) a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”(I)
12 Then the disciples came up and told Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this statement?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.(J)
14 Leave them alone! They are blind guides.(i) And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”(K)
16 “Are even you still lacking in understanding?” He(j) asked.
17 “Don’t you realize(k) that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?(l)
18 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man.(M)
19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies,(N) blasphemies.(O)
20 These are the things that defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”(P)
Footnotes:
a.
Matthew 15:2: Lit eat bread eat a meal
b.
Matthew 15:4: Other mss read commanded, saying
e.
Matthew 15:6: Other mss read then he does not have to honor his father or mother
f.
Matthew 15:6: Other mss read commandment
g.
Matthew 15:8: Other mss add draw near to Me with their mouths, and
h.
Matthew 15:9: Is 29:13 LXX
i.
Matthew 15:14: Other mss add for the blind
j.
Matthew 15:16: Other mss read Jesus
k.
Matthew 15:17: Other mss add yet
l.
Matthew 15:17: Lit and goes out into the toilet