Mat 15:1-20 | NASB2020 | STEP | Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said ,

Matthew 15:1-20

Tradition and Commandment

1 ^aThen some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus ^bfrom Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they ^cdo not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘ ^dHonor your father and mother,’ and, ‘ ^eThe one who speaks evil of father or mother is to ^{▼▼Lit die the death}be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been ^{▼▼Lit a gift; i.e., an offering}given to God,” 6 he is not to ^{▼▼I.e., by supporting them with it}honor his father or mother.’ And by this you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:

8 ‘ ⁱThis people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
9 ‘And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as ^jdoctrines the commandments of men.’”
10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand! 11 ^k It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.”

12 Then the disciples came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were ^{▼▼Lit caused to stumble}offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, “ ^mEvery plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone; ⁿthey are blind guides ^{▼▼Later mss add of blind people}of blind people. And ^pif a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

15 Peter ^{▼▼Lit answering, said}said to Him, “ ^rExplain the parable to us.” 16 ^{▼▼Lit and He}Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is ^{▼▼Lit thrown out into the latrine}eliminated? 18 But ^uthe things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. 19 ^vFor out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and ^{▼▼Or abusive speech}slanderous statements. 20 These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.”