Mark 7:9

9 he said to them, "you have made a fine art of departing from God's command in order to keep your tradition!

Mark 7:9 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 7:9

And he said unto them
He continued his discourse, saying,

full well,
or "fairly",

ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own
tradition:
these words may be considered, as spoken ironically, thus; as pious and excellently good men, you in a very fair and handsome manner, reject and make void the commandments and laws of God; and it is very fit it should be so, in order to preserve your own traditions, that nothing may be wanting to keep up the honour of them, and a due regard to them. The Arabic version reads the words by way of interrogation, "is it fit that you should omit the commandments of God, and keep your own statutes?" and so the Ethiopic, "do ye rightly make void the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own commandment?" Which makes them come nearer to the passage in Matthew; (See Gill on Matthew 15:3).

Mark 7:9 In-Context

7 Their worship of me is useless, because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines.'

8 "You depart from God's command and hold onto human tradition. Indeed,"

9 he said to them, "you have made a fine art of departing from God's command in order to keep your tradition!

10 For Moshe said, `Honor your father and your mother,' and `Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.'

11 But you say, `If someone says to his father or mother, "I have promised as a korban" ' " (that is, as a gift to God) " ` "what I might have used to help you," '