1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
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,’
6 he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
10 Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
11 A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
12 Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
14 Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter 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?
18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
20 These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”