6-8 Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right about frauds like you, hit the bull’s-eye in fact:

These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
    but their heart isn’t in it.
They act like they are worshiping me,
    but they don’t mean it.
They just use me as a cover
    for teaching whatever suits their fancy,
Ditching God’s command
    and taking up the latest fads.”

9-13 He went on, “Well, good for you. You get rid of God’s command so you won’t be inconvenienced in following the religious fashions! Moses said, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.’ But you weasel out of that by saying that it’s perfectly acceptable to say to father or mother, ‘Gift! What I owed you I’ve given as a gift to God,’ thus relieving yourselves of obligation to father or mother. You scratch out God’s Word and scrawl a whim in its place. You do a lot of things like this.”

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You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”(A)

And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe[a] your own traditions!(B) 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[b](C) and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[c](D)

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:9 Some manuscripts set up
  2. Mark 7:10 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
  3. Mark 7:10 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9