Mark 7:9

9 Jesus 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.

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 doesn't mean anything to me. They teach nothing but human rules.' (Isaiah 29:13)

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

9 Jesus 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.

10 Moses said, 'Honor your father and mother.'(Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said, 'If anyone calls down a curse on his father or mother, he will be put to death.'(Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9)

11 But 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.' )