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The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus
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and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.
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(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.
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When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. )
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So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
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He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
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They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’
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You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”
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And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observeyour own traditions!
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For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’
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But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—
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then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.
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Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”
