“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
- KJV Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
- NKJV “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
- NASB “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
- NLT “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They accuse Jesus' disciples of breaking the elders' tradition by not washing hands before eating. The complaint exposes their reverence for human tradition over God's law.
Overview
The Pharisees and scribes object that Jesus' disciples ignore the ceremonial handwashing required by the tradition of the elders. Their concern is ritual purity defined by human custom, not the moral law of God. This challenge prompts Jesus to expose how their traditions actually nullify God's commandments, teaching that true defilement comes from the heart, not unwashed hands.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Luke 11:38But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal.
- Mark 7:2and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.
- Col 2:20–23If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:
- Col 2:8See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
- Mark 7:5So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”
- 1 Pet 1:18For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your forefathers,
- Gen 1:14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.
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Original language
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