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Matthew 15:1–6

Tradition and Commandment

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.

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Matthew 15:1–6 — The New International Version (NIV)

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

Jesus replied, And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother andAnyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother isdevoted to God,’ they are not tohonor their father or motherwith it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

Matthew 15:1–6 — English Standard Version (ESV)

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, Honor your father and your mother,’ and, Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

Matthew 15:1–6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 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.

Matthew 15:1–6 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”

Jesus replied, And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ andAnyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ 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.’ 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.

Matthew 15:1–6 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

He answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother; and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to Godthen he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.

Matthew 15:1–6 — New Century Version (NCV)

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, “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.”

Jesus answered, And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow your own teachings? God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ andAnyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’ 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.’ You teach that person not to honor his father or his mother. You rejected what God said for the sake of your own rules.

Matthew 15:1–6 — American Standard Version (ASV)

Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death. 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; he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition.

Matthew 15:1–6 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

Then the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem come up to Jesus, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress what has been delivered by the ancients? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. But he answering said to them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God on account of your traditional teaching? For God commanded saying, Honour father and mother; and, He that speaks ill of father or mother, let him die the death. 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: 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.

Matthew 15:1–6 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Then some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings came from Jerusalem to Jesus. They asked, “Why do your disciples break the traditions of our ancestors? They do not wash their hands before they eat.” 

He answered them, “Why do you break the commandment of God because of your traditions? For example, God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say that whoever tells his father or mother, ‘I have given to God whatever support you might have received from me,’ does not have to honor his father. Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God’s word.

Matthew 15:1–6 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Then Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat!”

He answered them, And why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? For God said:

Honor your father and your mother; and,

The one who speaks evil of father or mother

must be put to death.

But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple”— he does not have to honor his father.’ In this way, you have revoked God’s word because of your tradition.

Matthew 15:1–6 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat.” He answered them, And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said,Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ 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. So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God.

Matthew 15:1–6 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.” So he answered and said to them, “Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or his mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received from me is a gift to God,” need not honor his father,’ and you make void the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

Matthew 15:1–6 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked, “Why don’t your disciples obey what the elders teach? Your disciples don’t wash their hands before they eat!”

Jesus replied, “And why don’t you obey God’s command? You would rather follow your own teachings! 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.’ But you allow people to say to their parents, ‘Any help you might have received from us is a gift set apart for God.’ 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.


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