The Teaching of the Ancestors
1 Some Pharisees and several teachers of the Law of Moses from Jerusalem came and gathered around Jesus. 2 They noticed that some of his disciples ate without first washing their hands.7.2 without first washing their hands: The Jewish people had strict laws about washing their hands before eating, especially if they had been out in public.
3 The Pharisees and many others obey the teachings of their ancestors. They always wash their hands in the proper way7.3 in the proper way: The Greek text has "with the fist," but the exact meaning is not clear. It could mean "to the wrist" or "to the elbow." before eating. 4 None of them will eat anything they buy in the market until it is washed. They also follow a lot of other teachings, such as washing cups, pitchers, and bowls.7.4 bowls: Some manuscripts add "and sleeping mats."
5 The Pharisees and teachers asked Jesus, "Why don’t your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? Why do they eat without washing their hands?"
6 Is 29.13 (LXX).Jesus replied:
You are nothing but show-offs! The prophet Isaiah was right when he wrote that God had said,
"All of you praise me
with your words,
but you never really
think about me.
7 It is useless for you
to worship me,
when you teach rules
made up by humans."
8 You disobey God’s commands in order to obey what humans have taught. 9 You are good at rejecting God’s commands so that you can follow your own teachings! 10 Ex 20.12;Dt 5.16;Ex 21.17;Lv 20.9.Didn’t Moses command you to respect your father and mother? Didn’t he tell you to put to death all who curse their parents? 11 But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they own has been offered to God.7.11 has been offered to God: According to Jewish custom, when anything was offered to God, it could not be used for anyone else, not even for a person’s parents.12 You won’t let those people help their parents. 13 And you ignore God’s commands in order to follow your own teaching. You do a lot of other things just as bad.