Obey God’s Law^(A)

15 Then some Pharisees and ·teachers of the law [scribes] came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, ² “Why don’t your ·followers [disciples] obey the ·unwritten laws which have been handed down to us [^Ltraditions of the elders]? [^LFor] They don’t wash their hands before they eat [^Ca Jewish ritual for ceremonial purity].”

³ Jesus answered, “And why do you ·refuse to obey [break; violate] God’s command ·so that you can follow your own teachings [^Lfor the sake of your traditions]? ⁴ God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16],’ and ‘Anyone who ·says cruel things to [speaks evil of; curses] his father or mother must be put to death [Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9].’ ⁵ But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I have ·given [dedicated; devoted] it to God already [^Ca practice known as Corban; see Mark 7:10–12].’ ⁶ You teach that person ·not to [that he need not] honor his father or his mother. You ·rejected [invalidated; canceled; nullified] ·what God said [^Lthe word of God] for the sake of your own ·rules [tradition]. ⁷ You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he ·said [^Lprophesied] about you:

¹⁰ After Jesus called the crowd to him, he said, “Listen and ·understand what I am saying [try to understand]. ¹¹ It is not what ·people put into their mouths [^Lgoes into the mouth] that ·makes them unclean [pollutes/defiles the person]. It is what comes out of their mouths that ·makes them unclean [pollutes/defiles the person].”

¹² Then his ·followers [disciples] came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees are ·angry [offended; shocked] because of what you said?”

¹³ Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted himself will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ ·Stay away from the Pharisees [^LLeave/Ignore them]; they are blind ·leaders [guides].^[a] And if a blind person ·leads [guides] a blind person, both will fall into a ·ditch [pit; hole].”

¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain the ·example [parable] to us.”

¹⁶ Jesus said, “·Do you still not understand [^LAre you still so dull/foolish]? ¹⁷ ·Surely you know [^LDon’t you know…?] that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then goes ·out of the body [^Linto the sewer/latrine].” ¹⁸ But ·what people say with their mouths [^Lthe things that come out of the mouth] comes from the ·way they think [^Lthe heart]; these are the things that ·make people unclean [pollute/defiled a person]. ¹⁹ [^LFor] Out of the ·mind [heart] come evil ·thoughts [intentions; ideas], murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, ·lying [false witness/testimony], and ·speaking evil of others [slander; blasphemy]. ²⁰ These things make people ·unclean [polluted; defiled]; eating with unwashed hands does not make them ·unclean [polluted; defiled].”

The Things that Truly Please God^(A)

7 When some Pharisees and some ·teachers of the law [scribes] came from Jerusalem, they gathered around Jesus. ² They saw that some of Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] ate food with hands that were not clean, that is, they hadn’t [ceremonially] washed them. ³ ([For] The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands ·in the way required [^Lwith a fist; ^Cthe meaning of the idiom is uncertain; it could mean “with a handful of water,” “with cupped hand,” “up to the wrist” or something else] by ·their unwritten laws [^Lthe traditions of the elders]. ⁴ ·And when they buy something in the market, they never eat it [or, And when they come from the market (where they might have touched something “unclean”), they do not eat] until they wash themselves in a special way. They also ·follow [hold fast to; observe] many other ·unwritten laws [traditions], such as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.^[a])

⁵ The Pharisees and the ·teachers of the law [scribes] asked Jesus, “Why don’t your ·followers [disciples] ·obey [walk according to] the ·unwritten laws which have been handed down to us [traditions of the elders]? Why do they eat their food with hands that are ·not clean [defiled]?”

⁶ Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right when he ·spoke [prophesied] about you hypocrites. ·He wrote [As it is written],

⁸ You ·have stopped following [neglected; abandoned] the commands of God, and you ·follow [hold on to] only human ·teachings^[b] [traditions].”

⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “You ·cleverly ignore [are very good at ignoring/despising] the commands of God so you can follow your own ·teachings [tradition]. ¹⁰ [For] Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16], and ‘Anyone who ·says cruel things to [speaks evil of; curses] his father or mother must be put to death’ [Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9]. ¹¹ But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but it is Corban—a gift to God.’ [^CCorban is a Hebrew term meaning dedicated or set aside to God.] ¹² You no longer let that person ·use that money [do anything] for his father or his mother. ¹³ By your own ·rules [tradition], which you ·teach people [have handed down], you are ·rejecting [nullifying; canceling] what God said. And you do many things like that.”

¹⁴ After Jesus called the crowd to him again, he said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand what I am saying. ¹⁵ There is nothing people put into their bodies that ·makes them unclean [pollutes/defiles them]. [But rather] People are ·made unclean [polluted; defiled] by the things that come out of them. |¹⁶ ·Let those with ears use them and listen [see 4:23].|”^[c]

¹⁷ When Jesus left the ·people [crowd] and went into the house, his ·followers [disciples] asked him about this ·story [parable; see 3:23]. ¹⁸ Jesus said, “·Do you still not understand [Are you so dull]? ·Surely you know [^LDon’t you know…?] that nothing that enters someone from the outside can make that person ·unclean [polluted; defiled]. ¹⁹ [Because] It does not go into the ·mind [heart], but into the stomach. Then it goes ·out of the body [^Linto the sewer/latrine].” ·(When Jesus said this, he meant that no longer was any food unclean for people to eat.) [or, (In this way, Jesus cleansed all food.)]

²⁰ And Jesus said, “The things that come out of people are the things that make them ·unclean [defiled]. ²¹ ·All these evil things begin inside people, in the mind [^LFor from within, out of human hearts, come]: evil ·thoughts [intentions; ideas], sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, ²² greed, ·evil actions [wickedness], ·lying [deceit], ·doing sinful things [indecency; lust; lewdness], ·jealousy [envy; ^Levil eye], ·speaking evil of others [slander; blasphemy], pride, and foolish living. ²³ All these evil things come from inside and make people ·unclean [defiled].”

³⁹ Jesus told them this ·story [parable]: “Can a blind person ·lead [guide] another blind person? No! Both of them will fall into a ·ditch [pit; hole].

Jesus Accuses the Pharisees^(A)

³⁷ After Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee asked Jesus to ·eat [dine] with him. So Jesus went in and ·sat at the table [reclined; ^C the posture for a banquet or dinner party; see 7:36]. ³⁸ But the Pharisee was surprised when he saw that Jesus did not wash his hands before the meal [^Ca Jewish ritual for ceremonial purity]. ³⁹ The Lord said to him, “You Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of ·greed [extortion; robbery] and ·evil [wickedness]. ⁴⁰ You foolish people! The same one who made what is outside also made what is inside. ⁴¹ So ·give what is in your dishes [or give from your hearts; ^Lgive the inside things] ·to the poor [as alms], and then ·you [everything] will be fully clean.