Matthew 15:1–9
1 aThen some Pharisees and scribes * came to Jesus bfrom Jerusalem and said,
2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they ado not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
4 “For God said, ‘aHonor your father and mother,’ and, ‘bHe who speaks evil of father or mother is to 1be put to death.’
5 “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been 1given to God,”
6 he is not to honor his father or his mother1.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
7 “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
8 ‘aThis people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
9 ‘But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as adoctrines the precepts of men.’ ”
Matthew 15:1–9 — The New International Version (NIV)
1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
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’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 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. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “ ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’”
Matthew 15:1–9 — English Standard Version (ESV)
1 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 when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Matthew 15:1–9 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Matthew 15:1–9 — New Living Translation (NLT)
1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”
Matthew 15:1–9 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—6 then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Matthew 15:1–9 — New Century Version (NCV)
1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2 “Why don’t your followers obey the unwritten laws which have been handed down to us? They don’t wash their hands before they eat.”
3 Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow your own teachings? 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I have given it to God already.’ 6 You teach that person not to honor his father or his mother. You rejected what God said for the sake of your own rules. 7 You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he said about you:
8 ‘These people show honor to me with words,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing but human rules.’ ”
Matthew 15:1–9 — American Standard Version (ASV)
1 Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3 And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given to God; 6 he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people honoreth me with their lips;
But their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain do they worship me,
Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.
Matthew 15:1–9 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
1 Then the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem come up to Jesus, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress what has been delivered by the ancients? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. 3 But he answering said to them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God on account of your traditional teaching? 4 For God commanded saying, Honour father and mother; and, He that speaks ill of father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or mother, It is a gift, whatsoever it be by which received from me thou wouldest be profited: 6 and he shall in no wise honour his father or his mother; and ye have made void the commandment of God on account of your traditional teaching. 7 Hypocrites! well has Esaias prophesied about you, saying, 8 This people honour me with the lips, but their heart is far away from me; 9 but in vain do they worship me, teaching as teachings commandments of men.
Matthew 15:1–9 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
1 Then some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings came from Jerusalem to Jesus. They asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
3 He answered them, “Why do you break the commandment of God because of your traditions? 4 For example, God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say that whoever tells his father or mother, ‘I have given to God whatever support you might have received from me,’ 6 does not have to honor his father. Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is pointless,
because their teachings are rules made by humans.’ ”
Matthew 15:1–9 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat!”
3 He answered them, “And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? 4 For God said:
Honor your father and your mother; and,
The one who speaks evil of father or mother
must be put to death.
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.’ In this way, you have revoked God’s word because of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:
8 These people honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.
9 They worship Me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commands of men.”
Matthew 15:1–9 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
1 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.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,’ then that person need not honor the father. 6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:
8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ ”
Matthew 15:1–9 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
1 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.” 3 So he answered and said to them, “Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or his mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received from me is a gift to God,” 6 need not honor his father,’ 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 lips,
but their heart is far, far away from me,
9 and they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
Matthew 15:1–9 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
1 Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked, 2 “Why don’t your disciples obey what the elders teach? Your disciples don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why don’t you obey God’s command? You would rather follow your own teachings! 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ He also said, ‘If anyone calls down a curse on his father or mother, he will be put to death.’ 5 But you allow people to say to their parents, ‘Any help you might have received from us is a gift set apart for God.’ 6 So they do not need to honor their parents with their gift. You make the word of God useless in order to follow your own teachings.
7 “You pretenders! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. He said,
8 “ ‘These people honor me by what they say.
But their hearts are far away from me.
9 Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me.
They teach nothing but human rules.’ ”