¹³ The Lord says:

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’^[a](A) and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[b](B) 5} 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:

¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them,^(E) but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”^(F)

¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted^(G) will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides.^[d](H) If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”^(I)

¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”^(J)

¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?”^(K) Jesus asked them. ¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart,^(L) and these defile them. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.^{(M) 20} These are what defile a person;^(N) but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

² and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled,^(A) that is, unwashed. ³ (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.^{(B) 4} When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.^[a])^(C)

⁵ So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders^(D) instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

⁶ He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

⁸ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”^(F)

⁹ And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe^[c] your own traditions!^{(G) 10} For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’^[d](H) and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’^{[e](I) 11} But you say^(J) that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹² then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. ¹³ Thus you nullify the word of God^(K) by your tradition^(L) that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

¹⁴ Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵ Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” ^[16] [f]

¹⁷ After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him^(M) about this parable. ¹⁸ “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁹ For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods^(N) clean.)^(O)

²⁰ He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. ²¹ For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed,^(P) malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³ All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

The Weak and the Strong

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak,^(A) without quarreling over disputable matters. ² One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.^{(B) 3} The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt^(C) the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge^(D) the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?^(E) To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another;^(F) another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God;^(G) and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.

¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister^[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt?^(A) For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.^{(B) 11} It is written:

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.^(E)

¹³ Therefore let us stop passing judgment^(F) on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.^{(G) 14} I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself.^(H) But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.^{(I) 15} If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.^(J) Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.^{(K) 16} Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.^{(L) 17} For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking,^(M) but of righteousness, peace^(N) and joy in the Holy Spirit,^{(O) 18} because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.^(P)

¹⁹ Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace^(Q) and to mutual edification.^{(R) 20} Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.^(S) All food is clean,^(T) but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.^{(U) 21} It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.^(V)

²² So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn^(W) himself by what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts^(X) is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.^[c]