Mark 7:5
New International Version
So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

New Living Translation
So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”

English Standard Version
And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

Berean Standard Bible
So 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.”

Berean Literal Bible
And the Pharisees and the scribes questioned Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat the bread with unwashed hands?"

King James Bible
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

New King James Version
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”

New American Standard Bible
And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk in accordance with the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unholy hands?”

NASB 1995
The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”

NASB 1977
And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?”

Legacy Standard Bible
And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?”

Amplified Bible
So the Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus, “Why do Your disciples not live their lives according to the tradition of the elders, but [instead] eat their bread with [ceremonially] unwashed hands?”

Christian Standard Bible
So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders, instead of eating bread with ceremonially unclean hands? ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why don’t Your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders, instead of eating bread with ritually unclean hands?”

American Standard Version
And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?

Contemporary English Version
The Pharisees and teachers asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples obey what our ancestors taught us to do? Why do they eat without washing their hands?"

English Revised Version
And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples follow the traditions taught by our ancestors? They are unclean because they don't wash their hands before they eat!"

Good News Translation
So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus, "Why is it that your disciples do not follow the teaching handed down by our ancestors, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?"

International Standard Version
So the Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with unclean hands."

Majority Standard Bible
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: ?Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with unwashed hands.?

NET Bible
The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?"

New Heart English Bible
The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the Tradition of the Elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?"

Webster's Bible Translation
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?

Weymouth New Testament
So the Pharisees and Scribes put the question to Him: "Why do your disciples transgress the traditions of the Elders, and eat their food with unclean hands?"

World English Bible
The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why don’t your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?”
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Then the Pharisees and the scribes question Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat the bread with unwashed hands?”

Berean Literal Bible
And the Pharisees and the scribes questioned Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat the bread with unwashed hands?"

Young's Literal Translation
Then question him do the Pharisees and the scribes, 'Wherefore do thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but with unwashed hands do eat the bread?'

Smith's Literal Translation
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Wherefore do not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Pharisees and scribes asked him: Why do not thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the ancients, but they eat bread with common hands?

Catholic Public Domain Version
And so the Pharisees and the scribes questioned him: “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but they eat bread with common hands?”

New American Bible
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”

New Revised Standard Version
So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And the scribes and Pharisees asked him, Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with their hands unwashed?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the Scribes and Pharisees asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the Elders, but eat bread without having washed their hands?”
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
then the Pharisees and the scribes asked him: Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?

Godbey New Testament
Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, Wherefore do not thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders: but they eat bread with unwashed hands?

Haweis New Testament
Then the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, Why do not thy disciples walk conformable to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?

Mace New Testament
the Pharisees, and Scribes therefore ask'd Jesus, why don't your disciples observe the tradition of the antients? why do they take their meals without washing their hands?

Weymouth New Testament
So the Pharisees and Scribes put the question to Him: "Why do your disciples transgress the traditions of the Elders, and eat their food with unclean hands?"

Worrell New Testament
And the Pharisees and the scribes ask Him, "Why do not Thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?"

Worsley New Testament
Then the pharisees and the scribes ask Him, Why do not thy disciples walk according to the tradition of the ancients, but eat without washing their hands?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Tradition and Worship
4And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining. 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.” 6Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.…

Cross References
Matthew 15:2
“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

Matthew 23:25-28
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. / Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. / Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. ...

Isaiah 29:13
Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.

Colossians 2:8
See 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.

Colossians 2:20-22
If 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: / “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”? / These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings.

Galatians 1:14
I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

Luke 11:38-39
But the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal. / Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Matthew 15:3-6
Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? / For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ / 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,’ ...

Matthew 23:4
They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

Romans 10:3
Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

Acts 15:1
Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Galatians 2:12-14
For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group. / The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. / When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

1 Timothy 4:1-3
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, / influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. / They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

Isaiah 1:11-15
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. / When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you—this trampling of My courts? / Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly. ...

Ezekiel 33:31
So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.


Treasury of Scripture

Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not your disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?

Mark 2:16-18
And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? …

Matthew 15:2
Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

Acts 21:21,24
And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs…

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Ancients Bread Defiled Delivered Disciples Eat Elders Fathers Food Hands Impure Instead Live Pharisees Question Rules Scribes Teachers Tradition Traditions Transgress Unclean Unwashed Unwashen Walk Wherefore
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Ancients Bread Defiled Delivered Disciples Eat Elders Fathers Food Hands Impure Instead Live Pharisees Question Rules Scribes Teachers Tradition Traditions Transgress Unclean Unwashed Unwashen Walk Wherefore
Mark 7
1. The Pharisees find fault with the disciples for eating with unwashed hands.
8. They break the commandment of God by the traditions of men.
14. Food defiles not the man.
24. He heals the Syrophenician woman's daughter of an unclean spirit;
31. and one that was deaf, and stammered in his speech.














So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus
The Pharisees and scribes were religious leaders and experts in Jewish law. Their questioning of Jesus reflects a common theme in the Gospels, where these leaders often challenge Jesus' teachings and actions. The Greek word for "questioned" (ἐπερωτάω, eperōtaō) implies a formal inquiry, suggesting that the Pharisees and scribes were not merely curious but were seeking to challenge or trap Jesus. Historically, the Pharisees were known for their strict adherence to the law and traditions, which they believed were essential for maintaining purity and holiness. This encounter highlights the tension between Jesus' teachings and the established religious norms of the time.

Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders?
The phrase "walk according to" (περιπατέω, peripateō) is a common biblical metaphor for living or conducting one's life. The "tradition of the elders" refers to the oral traditions and interpretations of the law that had been passed down through generations. These traditions were highly esteemed by the Pharisees and scribes, who believed they were necessary to properly interpret and apply the written law. The question posed by the Pharisees and scribes reveals their concern for maintaining these traditions, which they saw as a safeguard for religious purity. However, Jesus often challenged these traditions, emphasizing the heart and spirit of the law over rigid adherence to human customs.

Instead, they eat with defiled hands
The term "defiled" (κοινός, koinos) in this context refers to ritual impurity, not physical dirtiness. The Jewish tradition included various ceremonial washings to ensure purity before eating, especially for those who were religiously observant. The Pharisees viewed these washings as essential to maintaining holiness and separation from anything considered unclean. By highlighting the disciples' failure to perform these washings, the Pharisees and scribes were accusing them of neglecting important religious practices. This accusation sets the stage for Jesus' teaching on the true nature of purity, which He explains is not about external rituals but the condition of the heart. This teaching challenges the prevailing religious mindset and calls believers to focus on inner transformation rather than mere outward conformity.

(5) With unwashen hands.--The better MSS. give, "with defiled hands," the word being the same as before. It was probable that the Pharisees would use the stronger word in their question, equally probable that a transcriber might think it better to substitute that which was the more easily understood.

Verse 5. - The Law of Moses prohibited contact with many things deemed to be unclean; and if any one had touched them he was counted unclean, so that he might not approach the temple until he had cleansed himself by the washing prescribed in the Law; the design being that by means of these ceremonial and bodily washings the Jews might be awakened to the necessity of spiritual cleansing. Hence the Jews, and especially the Pharisees, who wished to be esteemed more righteous than others, placing their whole religion in these external ceremonies, frequently washed themselves before their meals, and even at their meals. At the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee we read that there were placed "six waterpots of stone (λίθιναι ῦδρίαι)" for these purifying purposes; so that if any Jew had by accident come into contact with any unclean thing, and so had contracted any ceremonial impurity, he might remove it. This, however, was only a custom, and not a thing of legal obligation until it was exalted into a law by the Pharisees. Now, this punctilious observance of traditions by the Pharisees and other Jews yielded little or no religious profit; for it occupied their time with external purifications, and so drew away their attention from the duty of far greater moment - the cleansing of the soul from sin. They made clean "the outside of the cup and platter," but neglected the inward cleansing of the heart. Therefore our blessed Lord, who came to put an end to the old ceremonial law, and to these vain and frivolous traditions which now overlaid it, and who wished to direct all the care of his disciples to the making of the heart clean, cared not to enforce these external washings upon his disciples, although he did not say this in so many words to the Pharisees, lest he should provoke their envy and their malice. He therefore meets their question in another way.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
So
Καὶ (Kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

the
οἱ (hoi)
Article - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

Pharisees
Φαρισαῖοι (Pharisaioi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5330: Of Hebrew origin; a separatist, i.e. Exclusively religious; a Pharisean, i.e. Jewish sectary.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

scribes
γραμματεῖς (grammateis)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1122: From gramma. A writer, i.e. scribe or secretary.

questioned
ἐπερωτῶσιν (eperōtōsin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 1905: To interrogate, question, demand of. From epi and erotao; to ask for, i.e. Inquire, seek.

[Jesus]:
αὐτὸν (auton)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

“Why
Διὰ (Dia)
Preposition
Strong's 1223: A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.

{do} Your
σου (sou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Strong's 4771: You. The person pronoun of the second person singular; thou.

disciples
μαθηταί (mathētai)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3101: A learner, disciple, pupil. From manthano; a learner, i.e. Pupil.

not
οὐ (ou)
Adverb
Strong's 3756: No, not. Also ouk, and ouch a primary word; the absolute negative adverb; no or not.

live
περιπατοῦσιν (peripatousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 4043: From peri and pateo; to tread all around, i.e. Walk at large; figuratively, to live, deport oneself, follow.

according to
κατὰ (kata)
Preposition
Strong's 2596: A primary particle; down, in varied relations (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined).

the
τὴν (tēn)
Article - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

tradition
παράδοσιν (paradosin)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3862: An instruction, tradition. From paradidomi; transmission, i.e. a precept; specially, the Jewish traditionary law.

of the
τῶν (tōn)
Article - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

elders?
πρεσβυτέρων (presbyterōn)
Adjective - Genitive Masculine Plural
Strong's 4245: Comparative of presbus; older; as noun, a senior; specially, an Israelite Sanhedrist or Christian 'presbyter'.

Instead,
ἀλλὰ (alla)
Conjunction
Strong's 235: But, except, however. Neuter plural of allos; properly, other things, i.e. contrariwise.

they eat
ἐσθίουσιν (esthiousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 2068: Strengthened for a primary edo; used only in certain tenses, the rest being supplied by phago; to eat.

with defiled
κοιναῖς (koinais)
Adjective - Dative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2839: Probably from sun; common, i.e. shared by all or several, or profane.

hands.?
χερσὶν (chersin)
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural
Strong's 5495: A hand.


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NT Gospels: Mark 7:5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked him (Mar Mk Mr)
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