Matthew 15:2–20

²“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

³Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^a and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’^{b 5}But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ ⁶he need not honor his father or mother with it.^c Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:

⁸‘These people honor Me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from Me.

⁹They worship Me in vain;

they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’^d”

¹⁰Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

¹²Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. ¹⁴Disregard them! They are blind guides.^e If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

¹⁶“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked. ¹⁷“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? ¹⁸But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. ²⁰These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”