Matthew 15:2-4 New English Translation

²“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their^[a] hands when they eat.”^[b] ³He answered them,^[c] “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴For God said,^[d] ‘Honor your father and mother’^[e] and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’^[f]

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Footnotes

Matthew 15:2 tc ‡ Although most witnesses read the genitive plural pronoun αὐτῶν (autōn, “their”), it may have been motivated by clarification (as it is in the translation above). Several other authorities do not have the pronoun, however (א B Δ 073 ƒ¹ 579 700 892 1424 f g¹); the lack of an unintentional oversight as the reason for omission strengthens their combined testimony in this shorter reading. NA²⁸ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
Matthew 15:2 tn Grk “when they eat bread.”
Matthew 15:3 tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”
Matthew 15:4 tc Most mss (א*^,2b C L N W Γ Δ 0106 33 565 1241 1424 M) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, ho gar theos eneteilato legōn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א^2a B D Θ 073 ƒ^{1, 13} 579 700 892 lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).
Matthew 15:4 sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.
Matthew 15:4 sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

New English Translation (NET)