The Tradition of the Elders
1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
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“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
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Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
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For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
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But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
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he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
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You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
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‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
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They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ ”