RSV ~ Matthew 15 v1 - 9

Mt 15:1-9 | The Tradition of the Elders

1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

2 “Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”

3 He answered them, “And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.’ 5But you say, ‘If any one tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.’

6 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 precepts of men.’ ”