Matthew 15:1-9

Traditions and Commandments

1 ^aThen Pharisees and ^bscribes came to Jesus ^cfrom Jerusalem and said, 2 ^d“Why do your disciples break ^ethe tradition of the elders? ^fFor they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4For God commanded, ^g‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^h‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” ▼

▼Or  is an offering

6he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^jmade void the word ▼

▼Some manuscripts law

of God. 7 ^lYou hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 ^m“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9in vain do they worship me,
teaching as ⁿdoctrines the commandments of men.’”

Matthew 23:2-6

2 ^o“The scribes and the Pharisees ^psit on Moses’ seat, 3so do and observe whatever they tell you, ^qbut not the works they do. ^rFor they preach, but do not practice. 4 ^sThey tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, ▼

▼Some manuscripts omit  hard to bear

and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 ^uThey do all their deeds ^vto be seen by others. For they make ^wtheir phylacteries broad and ^xtheir fringes long, 6and they ^ylove the place of honor at feasts and ^zthe best seats in the synagogues

Matthew 23:15-24

15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single ^aaproselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a ^abchild of ^achell ▼

▼Greek Gehenna; also verse 33

as yourselves.

16“Woe to ^aeyou, ^afblind guides, who say, ^ag‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or ^ahthe temple that has made the gold sacred? 18And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by ^aithe gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or ^ajthe altar that makes the gift sacred? 20So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by ^akhim who dwells in it. 22And whoever swears by ^alheaven swears by ^amthe throne of God and by ^anhim who sits upon it.

23 ^ao“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ^apyou tithe mint and dill and ^aqcumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: ^arjustice and mercy and faithfulness. ^asThese you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing ^ata camel!

Mark 7:5-13

5And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^authe tradition of ^avthe elders, ^awbut eat with ^axdefiled hands?” 6And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^ayhypocrites, as it is written,

^az“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7in vain do they worship me,
teaching as ^badoctrines the commandments of men.’
8You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

9And he said to them, “You have a fine way of ^bbrejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10For Moses said, ^bc‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^bd‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God) ▼

▼Or an offering

— 12then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13thus ^bfmaking void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

Luke 20:8

8And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Luke 20:46-47

46“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and ^bgthe places of honor at feasts, 47 ^bhwho devour widows’ houses and ^bifor a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”