Add parallel Print Page Options

and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they [a]cleanse themselves [completely according to ritual]; and there are many other things [oral, man-made laws and traditions handed down to them] which they follow diligently, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper utensils.) So the Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus, “Why do Your disciples not live their lives according to the tradition of the elders, but [instead] eat their bread with [ceremonially] unwashed hands?” He replied, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders), as it is written [in Scripture],

These people honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:4 The Greek word used is baptize, which in this context refers to an immersion ritual normally performed in a miqveh, a special bathtub large enough for the purpose and filled with water that was to be collected naturally. The miqvehs typically were built into the ground outside where they could collect rain water.

Bible Gateway Recommends