^15:3He answered them,⁷ “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? ^15:4For God said,⁸ ‘Honor your father and mother’⁹ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’¹⁰^15:5But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,”¹¹^15:6he does not need to honor his father.’¹² You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. ^15:7Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,

^15:8‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart¹³ is far from me,

^15:9and they worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”¹⁴

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Footnotes

7 Grk “But answering, he said to them.”
8 Most (א*,2 C L W 0106 33 𝔐) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, ho gar theos eneteilato legōn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א1 B D Θ 073 f1, 13 579 700 892 lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).
9 A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.
10 A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.
11 Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.
12 The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of (C L W Θ 0106 f1 𝔐) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, ē tēn mētera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai tēn mētera autou, “and his mother“] in Φ 565 1241 and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother“] in 073 f13 33 579 700 892 ), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of -ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations. Grk “he will never honor his father.” Here Jesus is quoting the Pharisees, whose intent is to release the person who is giving his possessions to God from the family obligation of caring for his parents. The verb in this phrase is future tense, and it is negated with οὐ μή (ou mē), the strongest negation possible in Greek. A literal translation of the phrase does not capture the intended sense of the statement; it would actually make the Pharisees sound as if they agreed with Jesus. Instead, a more interpretive translation has been used to focus upon the release from family obligations that the Pharisees allowed in these circumstances. Here Jesus refers to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner. According to contemporary Jewish tradition, the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 4).
13 The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.
14 A quotation from Isa 29:13.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

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. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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’ and ‘Anyone 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 is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

“ ‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain;

their teachings are merely human rules.’”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

He answered them, “Why do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition? For God said: Honor your father and your mother; and, Whoever 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 nullified the word of God because of your tradition. Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:

This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

They worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines human commands.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘Anyone 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. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,

‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

Their worship is a farce,

for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

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. Hypocrites! Isaiah correctly prophesied about you saying,

‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far, far away from me,

and they worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

KJV 1900King James Version

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. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

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