Matthew 15:3

But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
But	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
answered	ἀποκριθεὶς apokritheis	G611	to conclude for oneself · verb — aorist passive deponent participle, nominative singular masculine
said	εἶπεν eipen	G2036	to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
them	αὐτοῖς· autois	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
Why	τί ti	G5101	an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
do	παραβαίνετε parabainete	G3845	to go contrary to · verb — present active indicative, 2nd person plural
ye	ὑμεῖς hymeîs	G5210	you (as subjective of verb)
also	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
transgress	παραβαίνω parabaínō	G3845	to go contrary to
the commandment	ἐντολὴν entolēn	G1785	injunction · noun — accusative singular feminine
of God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
by	διὰ dia	G1223	through (in very wide applications · preposition
your	ὑμῶν hymōn	G5216	of (from or concerning) you
tradition	παράδοσιν paradosin	G3862	transmission · noun — accusative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Colossians 2:23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of…
Titus 1:14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
Mark 7:6-8 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, b…
Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not afte…
Matthew 7:3-5 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 15:1-9

Evil manners, we say, beget good laws. The intemperate heat of the Jewish teachers for the support of their hierarchy, occasioned many excellent discourses of our Saviour's for the settling of the truth, as here. I. Here, is the cavil of the scribes and Pharisees at Christ's disciples, for eating with unwashen hands. The scribes and Pharisees were the great men of the Jewish church, men whose gain was godliness, great enemies to the gospel of Christ, but colouring their opposition with a pretence of zeal for the law of Moses, when really nothing was intended but the support of their own tyranny over the consciences of men. They were men of learning and men of business. These scribes and Phar…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 15:3

But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?--The charge is retorted with startling power: "The tradition they transgress is but man's, and is itself the occasion of heavy transgression, undermining the authority of God's law."

John Gill on Matthew 15:3

But he answered and said unto them,.... Taking no notice of the tradition about eating bread without washing the hands, whether it was right or wrong; it being at most but an human tradition, of no moment and importance, whether it was broke or kept; he makes a very just recrimination, by putting another question to them, why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? suggesting, that, if his disciples were guilty, they were not so guilty as they themselves were; that his disciples, at most, were but guilty of the breach of an human precept, whereas they were guilty of the breach of a divine command; and that it was strange, that men who were so scrupulous of breaking,…

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John Calvin on Matthew 15:1-9

Matthew 15:1-9 Matthew 15:1-9 Mark 7:1-13 1. Then scribes and Pharisees, who had come from Jerusalem, approach to Jesus, saying, 2. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3. But he answering said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God on account of [390] your tradition? 4. For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother; and, He that curseth father or mother, dying let him die. 5. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father or mother, Whatever is a gift from me shall profit thee; and shall not honor his father or his mother. 6. Therefore you have annulled the commandment of God on accoun…

The Church Fathers

Since ye because of the tradition of men neglect the commandment of God, why do ye take upon you to reprove my disciples, for bestowing little regard upon the precepts of the elders, that they may observe the commands of God?
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(cont. Adv. Leg. et Proph. ii. 1.) Christ here clearly shows both that that law which the heretic blasphemes is God's law, and that the Jews had their traditions foreign to the prophetical and canonical books; such as the Apostle calls profane and vain fables.
— Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(cont. Faust. xvi. 24.) The Lord here teaches us many things; That it was not He that turned the Jews from their God; that not only did He not infringe the commandments, but convicts them of infringing them; and that He had ordained no more than those by the hand of Moses.
— Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Scribes — Anciently held various important offices in the public affairs of the nation. The Hebrew word so rendered (sopher) is first used to designate the holder of some military office (Judg. 5:14; A.V.,…
Tradition — Any kind of teaching, written or spoken, handed down from generation to generation. In Mark 7:3, 9, 13, Col. 2:8, this word refers to the arbitrary interpretations of the Jews. In 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6,…
Zabulon — (Matt. 4:13, 15; Rev. 7:8). See ZEBULUN.
Ecclesiasticism · Traditional rules of the Jewish — Traditional rules of the Jewish
Hypocrites · Described as: Regarding tradition more than the word of God — Described as: Regarding tradition more than the word of God
Pharisees · .The washing of hands — .The washing of hands
Teachers · .Admonition against — .Admonition against
Tradition · Commandments of men — Commandments of men

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 15:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 15:3

John Gill on Matthew 15:3

John Calvin on Matthew 15:1-9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 15:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 15:3

John Gill on Matthew 15:3

John Calvin on Matthew 15:1-9

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 15:2