¹ Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ² “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don`t wash their hands before they eat!” <sup>3</sup> Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? <sup>4</sup> For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother` and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.` <sup>5</sup> But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,` ⁶ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother` with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ⁸ “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.