Mark 7:1-9 ▼

1 THEN there gathered unto him Pharisees and scribes, who had come from Jerusalem.

2 And they saw some of his disciples eating bread with their hands unwashed; and they reproached them.

3 For all the Jews, even the Pharisees, unless their hands are washed carefully would not eat, because they strictly observe the tradition of the elders.

4 Even the things from the market, if they are not washed, they would not eat them. And there are a great many other things, which they have accepted to obey, such as the washing of cups and pots, and copper utensils, and the bedding of dead men.

5 And the scribes and Pharisees asked him, Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with their hands unwashed?

6 He said to them, The prophet Isaiah well prophesied about you, O hypocrites, as it is written, This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.

7 And they worship me in vain, when they teach the doctrines of the commandments of men.

8 For you have ignored the commandment of God, and you observe the tradition of men, such as the washing of cups and pots, and a great many other things like these.

9 He said to them, Well you do injustice to the commandment of God so as to sustain your own tradition.