7The Pharisees gathered around Jesus. So did some of the teachers of the law. All of them had come from Jerusalem. ²They saw some of his disciples eating food with “unclean” hands. That means they were not washed.

³The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands to make them pure. That’s what the elders teach. ⁴When they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they wash. And they follow many other teachings. For example, they wash cups, pitchers, and kettles in a special way.

⁵So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law questioned Jesus. “Why don’t your disciples live by what the elders teach?” they asked. “Why do they eat their food with ‘unclean’ hands?”

⁶He replied, “Isaiah was right. He prophesied about you people who pretend to be good. He said,

“ ‘These people honor me by what they say.

But their hearts are far away from me.

⁷Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me.

They teach nothing but human rules.’

⁸You have let go of God’s commands. And you are holding on to the teachings that men have made up.”

⁹Jesus then said to them, “You have a fine way of setting aside God’s commands! You do this so you can follow your own teachings. ¹⁰Moses 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.’ ¹¹But you allow people to say to their parents, ‘Any help you might have received from us is Corban.’ (Corban means ‘a gift set apart for God.’) ¹²So you no longer let them do anything for their parents. ¹³You make the word of God useless by putting your own teachings in its place. And you do many things like that.”

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