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George Lamsa Translation
Matthew 15:5
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But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, “Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple,”
But yee say, Whosoeuer shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift by whatsoeuer thou mightest bee profited by me,
But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God,"
"But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,"
But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I have given it to God already.'
"But you say, 'If anyone says to his father or mother, "Whatever [money or resource that] I have that would help you is [already dedicated and] given to God,"
But ye say, Whosoeuer shal say to father or mother, By the gift that is offered by me, thou maiest haue profite,
"But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,"
But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever you might benefit from me is given to God,"
But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, 'The help you would have received from me has been given to God,'
But you let people get by without helping their parents when they should. You let them say that what they have has been offered to God.
But you say, ‘If anyone says to his father or mother, "I have promised to give to God what I might have used to help you,"
But *ye* say, Whosoever shall say to his father or mother, It is a gift, whatsoever [it be] by which [received] from me thou wouldest be profited:
But you teach that a person can say to their father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.'
But you teach that if people have something they could use to help their father or mother, but say, ‘This belongs to God,'
But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or his mother, "Whatever benefit you would have received from me is a gift to God,"
But you say, Whoever says to the father or the mother, A gift, whatever you would gain from me;
But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given to God;
But you say, If a man says to his father or his mother, That by which you might have had profit from me is given to God;
But you say, 'Whoever may tell his father or his mother, "Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,"
But you say 'Whoever tells his father or his mother, "Whatever support you might have received from me has been given to God,"is a gift">[fn]Mark 7:11-12;">[xr]
but ye say, Every one who shall say to a father, or to a mother, (It is) my oblation whatever thou wouldst be profited by me,
But ye say: Whosoever shall say to a father or to a mother, Be that my offering, by which ye get profit from me: then he must not honor his father or his mother.
But ye say, whosoeuer shall say to father or mother: by the gyft that [is offered] of me, thou shalt be helped:
But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given to God;
But you say, 'Whoever will tell his father or his mother, "Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,"
But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest have been profited by me:
but you--this is what you say: `If a man says to his father or mother, That is consecrated, whatever it is, which otherwise you should have received from me--
But ye seien, Who euer seith to fadir or modir, What euere yifte is of me, it schal profite to thee;
But you say, whoever shall say to his father or his mother, That with which you might have been profited by me is given [to God];
But ye say, Whoever shall say to [his] father or [his] mother, [It is] a gift, by whatever thou mightest be profited by me;
But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, "Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,"
But you say, "Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God"--
But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can't help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.'
But you say that if a man says to his parents that anything he has, that might have been of help to them, is already given to God,
But you say that whoever tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,' then that person need not honor the father.
But, ye, say - Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother - A gift! Whatsoever, out of me, thou mightest be profited,
But you say: Whosoever shall say to father or mother, The gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit thee.
But you say, 'If any one tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.'
But ye saye every ma shall saye to his father or mother: That which thou desyrest of me to helpe ye with: is geven God:
but ye say, Whoever may say to father or mother, An offering [is] whatever thou mayest be profited by me; --
But ye saye: Euery man shal saye to father or mother: The thige yt I shulde helpe ye withal, is geue vnto God.
but your doctrine is this, if any man declares to his father or mother, that whatever he has to give for their relief is dedicated to the temple; he is not oblig'd to regard his father or his mother.
But y'all let it slide when someone doesn't even help their parents out when they need some help. Y'all tell these kids that it's fine to give money to your organization instead of buying food for their parents.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
ye say: Matthew 23:16-18, Amos 7:15-17, Mark 7:10-13, Acts 4:19, Acts 5:29
It is: Leviticus 27:9-34, Proverbs 20:25, Mark 7:11, Mark 7:12
Reciprocal: Genesis 45:11 - General Proverbs 11:9 - An hypocrite Acts 28:10 - honoured
Cross-References
And I will make of you a great people, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing;
And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; so that if you can number the dust of the earth, then shall your descendants also be numbered.
And he said to him, I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.
And Abram said, O LORD God, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
And again the angel of the LORD said to her, I will greatly multiply your descendants, that they can not be numbered because of their multitude.
I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is on the sea shore; and your descendants shall inherit the lands of their enemies;
And I will make your descendants to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give to your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
And your descendants shall be as numerous as the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the east and to the west and to the north and to the south; and in you and through your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou didst swear by thine own self and didst say to them, I will multiply your descendants as the stars in heaven, and all the land that I have spoken of I will give to thy descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.
The LORD your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven in multitude.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Ver. 5 6. But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or mother,.... That is, it was a tradition of their's, that if a man should say to his father and mother, when poor and in distress, and made application to him for sustenance,
it is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and honour not his father, or his mother, he shall be free: or, as Mark expresses it, "it is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, he shall be free, and ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or mother". For the understanding of this tradition, let it be observed, that the word "Corban" signifies a gift, or offering, which was devoted to sacred use and was unalienable, and could not be converted to any other use; and that this word was used among the Jews, from hence, as the form of an oath, or vow; and therefore, when anyone said "Corban", it was all one, as if he swore by "Corban"; or as if he had said, let it be as "Corban", as unalienable as "Corban": by which oath, or vow, the use of that which was spoken of, whether it respected a man's self, or others, was restrained and prohibited: the rule was r this
קר×× ××××ר ×קר×× ××× ×ס×ר, "if a man said Corban, it was as if he said as Corban, and it was forbidden": and if he used the words "Conem", "Conach", and "Conas", which they call s the surnames of Corban, and were no other than corruptions of it, it was all one as if he had said "Corban" itself. There are many instances of this kind of vows, and the form of them in their oral law t, or book of traditions;
"If anyone should say, ק×× × ×©×× × × ×× ×, "Conem (or "Corban") whatsoever I might be profited by the" sons of Noah, it is free of an Israelite, and forbidden of a Gentile; if he should say, "whatsoever I might be profited" by the seed of Abraham, it is forbidden of an Israelite, and is free of a Gentile--if anyone should say, ק×× × ×©×× × × ×× × ×ער×××, "Conem (or "Corban") whatsoever I might be profited by the uncircumcised", it is free of the uncircumcised of Israel, and forbidden of the circumcised of the Gentiles; if he says "Conem (or "Corban") whatsoever I might be profited by the circumcised", it is forbidden of the circumcised of Israel, and free of the circumcised, of the Gentiles.''
Again u,
"if anyone says to his friend, ק×× × ×©×× × × ×× × ××, "Conem (or "Corban") whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me", c.''
which is exactly the same form as here, unless it should be rather rendered, "whatsoever I might be profited by thee": once more w,
"if a married woman should say to her husband, ×××× ××××××
ק×× × ×©×× × × ×× ×ת "Conem (or Corban) whatsoever I might be profited by my father, or thy father, c".''
Let these instances suffice: the plain and evident sense of the tradition before us, is this that when, upon application being made to a man by his parents, for support and sustenance, he makes a vow in such form as this, "Corban, whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me" that is, whatsoever profit or advantage thou mightest have, or expect to have from me, let it be as "Corban", as a gift devoted to God, that can never be revoked and converted to another use; or, in other words, I vow and protest thou shalt never have any profit from me, not a penny, nor a pennyworth of mine. Now, when a man had made such an impious vow as this, according to this tradition, it was to stand firm and good, and he was not to honour his father or mother, or do anything for them, by way of relief: so that our Lord might justly observe upon it as he does;
thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect, by your tradition: for if such a vow was valid, and a man was obliged to abide by it, according to the tradition of the elders, and not honour his father and mother, as the law of God requires; it is a plain case, that the command of God was made void by this tradition: nay they expressly say x that × ×ר×× ×××ת ×¢× ×××¨× ×צ××, "vows fall upon things of a (divine) commandment", as well as upon things in a man's power, and that he is bound by them; so that without sin he cannot do what the law commands; insomuch, that if a man vows a vow, and that it may be ratified, a command must be made void, his vow must stand, and the command be abrogated. So truly and justly does Christ charge them with making the command of God of none effect, by their tradition. It is indeed disputed by the doctors, and at last allowed, that such a vow might be dissolved by a wise man, for the honour of parents y.
"R. Eliezer says, they open to a man, (i.e. the door of repentance, and dissolve his vow,) for the honour of his father and his mother, but the wise men forbid "it". Says R. Tzadok, if they open to him for the honour of his father and mother, they will open to him for the honour of God, and if so, there will be no vows: however, the wise men agreed with R. Eliezer in the affair between a man and his parents, that they should open to him for the honour of them.''
And this could be done only by a wise man; and very probably this last decree was made on account of this just reproof of Christ's, being ashamed any longer to countenance so vile a practice; and even, according to this determination, the vow stood firm till dissolved by of their doctors: so that notwithstanding, Christ's argument is good, and the instance full to prove that for which he brought it: for the above reason it may be, it is, that this tradition Christ refers to is not now extant; but that there was such an one in Christ's time, is certain; he would never have asserted it else; and had it not been true, the Pharisees would have been able to have retired him, and forward enough to have done it: and that such vows were sometimes made, and which were not to be rescinded, is clear from the following fact z.
"It happened to one in Bethhoron, ×××× ×××ר ×××× × ×× ××
ש×××, "whose father was excluded, by a vow, from receiving any profit from him": and he married his son, and said to his friend, a court and a dinner are given to thee by gift; but they are not to be made use of by thee, but with this condition, that my father may come and eat with us at dinner;''
which was a device to have his father at dinner, and yet secure his vow. Upon the whole, the sense of this passage is, not that a man excused himself to his parents, according to this tradition, by saying, that his substance, either in whole, or in part, was "Corban", or devoted to the service of God, and therefore they could expect no profit, or relief, from him; but that he vowed that what he had should be as "Corban", and they should be never the better for it: so that a man so vowing might give nothing to the service of God, but keep his whole substance to himself; which he might make use of for his own benefit, and for the benefit of others, but not for his father and mother; who, after such a vow made, were to receive no benefit by it, unless rescinded by a wise man; and which seems to be an explanation of it, made after the times of Christ.
r T. Hieros. Nedarim, fol. 37. 1. Misn. Nedarim, c. 1. sect. 4. Maimon. Hilch. Nedarim, c. 1. sect. 7. s Misn. Nedarim, c. 1. sect. 1, 2. Maimon. Hilch. Nedarim, c. 1. sect. 16. t Misn. Nedarim, c. 3. sect. 11. u lb. c. 8. sect. 7. Vid. c. 11. sect 3, 4. w lb. c. 11. sect. 11. x Maimon. Hilch. Nedarim, c. 3. sect. 1. 6, 7. 9. y Misn. Nedarim, c. 9. sect. 1. z lb. c. 5. sect. 6.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
See also Mark 7:1-9.
Then came to Jesus ... - Mark says that they saw the disciples of Jesus eating with unwashed hands.
Matthew 15:2
Transgress the tradition of the elders - The world âeldersâ literally means âold men.â Here it means the âancients,â or their âancestors.â The âtradition of the eldersâ meant something handed down from one to another by memory; some precept or custom not commanded in the written law, but which scribes and Pharisees held themselves bound to observe.
They supposed that when Moses was on Mount Sinai two sets of laws were delivered to him: one, they said, was recorded, and is that contained in the Old Testament; the other was handed down from father to son, and kept uncorrupted to their day. They believed that Moses, before he died, delivered this law to Joshua; he to the Judges; they to the prophets; so that it was kept pure until it was recorded in the Talmuds. In these books these pretended laws are now contained. They are exceedingly numerous and very trifling. They are, however, regarded by the Jews as more important than either Moses or the prophets.
One point in which the Pharisees differed from the Sadducees was in holding to these traditions. It seems, however, that in the particular traditions mentioned here, all the Jews were united; for Mark adds Mark 7:3 that âthe Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.â Mark has also added that this custom of washing extended not merely to their hands before eating, but in coming from the market; and also to cups, and pots, and brass vessels, and tables, Mark 7:3-4. They did this professedly for the sake of cleanliness. So far it was well. But they also made it a matter of superstition. They regarded external purity as of much more importance than the purity of the heart. They had many foolish rules about it respecting the quantity of water that was to be used, the way in which it should be applied, the number of times it should be changed, the number of those that might wash at a time, etc. Our Saviour did not think it proper to regard these rules, and this was the reason why they âfound faultâ with him.
Matthew 15:3
But he answered ... - They accused him of violating their traditions, as though they were obligatory.
In his answer he implied that his disciples were not bound to obey their traditions - they were invented by human beings. He said, also, that those traditions could not be binding, as they violated the commandments of God. He proceeded to specify a case in which their tradition made void one of the plain laws of God; and if that was their character, then they could not blame him for not regarding them.
Matthew 15:4
For God commanded ... - That is, in the fifth commandment Exodus 20:12, and in Exodus 21:17. To âhonorâ is to obey, to reverence, to speak kindly to, to speak and think well of. To âcurseâ is to disobey, to treat with irreverence, to swear at, to speak ill of, to think evil of in the heart, to meditate or do any evil to a parent. All this is included in the original word.
Let him die the death - This is a Hebrew phrase, the same as saying, âlet him surely die.â The Jewish law punished this crime with death. This duty of honoring and obeying a parent was what Christ said they had violated by their traditions. He proceeds to state the way in which it was done.
Matthew 15:5
It is a gift - In Mark it is âcorban.â The word âcorbanâ is a Hebrew word denoting a gift.
Here it means a thing dedicated to the service of God, and therefore not to be appropriated to any other use. The Jews were in the habit of making such dedications. They devoted their property to God for sacred uses, as they pleased. In doing this they used the word קר×× qaarbaan or κοÏβαÍν korban, or some similar word, saying, this thing is âcorban,â i. e., it is a gift to God, or is sacred to him. The law required that when a dedication of this kind was made it should be fulfilled. âVow and pay unto the Lord your God,â Psalms 76:11. See Deuteronomy 23:21. The law of God required that a son should honor his parent; i. e., among other things, that he should provide for his needs when he was old and in distress. Yet the Jewish teachers said that it was more important for a man to dedicate his property to God than to provide for the needs of his parent.
If he had once devoted his property once said it was âcorban,â or a gift to God - it could not be appropriated even to the support of a parent. If a parent was needy and poor, and if he should apply to a son for assistance, and the son should reply, though in anger, âIt is devoted to God; this property which you need, and by which you might be profited by me, is âcorbanâ - I have given it to God;â the Jews said the property could not be recalled, and the son was not under obligation to aid a parent with it. He had done a more important thing in giving it to God. The son was free. He could not be required to do anything for his father after that. Thus, he might, in a moment, free himself from the obligation to obey his father or mother. In a sense somewhat similar to this, the chiefs and priests of the Sandwich Islands had the power of devoting anything to the service of the gods by saying that it was âtaboo,â or âtabooed;â that is, it became consecrated to the service of religion; and, no matter who had been the owner, it could then be appropriated for no other use. In this way they had complete power over all the possessions of the people, and could appropriate them for their own use under the pretence of devoting them to religion. Thus, they deprived the people of their property under the plea that it was consecrated to the gods. The Jewish son deprived his parents of a support under the plea that the property was devoted to the service of religion. The principle was the same, and both systems were equally a violation of the rights of others.
Besides, the law said that a man should die who cursed his father, i. e., that refused to obey him, or to provide for him, or spoke in anger to him. Yet the Jews said that, though in anger, and in real spite and hatred, a son said to his father, âAll that I have which could profit you I have given to God,â he should be free from blame. Thus, the whole law was made void, or of no use, by what appeared to have the appearance of piety. âNo man, according to their views, was bound to obey the fifth commandment and support an aged and needy parent, if, either from superstition or spite, he chose to give his property to God, that is, to devote it to some religious use.â
Our Saviour did not mean to condemn the practice of giving to God, or to religious and charitable objects. The law and the gospel equally required this. Jesus commended even a poor widow that gave all her living, Mark 12:44, but he condemned the practice of giving to God where it interfered with our duty to parents and relations; where it was done to get rid of the duty of aiding them; and where it was done out of a malignant and rebellious spirit, with the semblance of piety, to get clear of doing to earthly parents what God required.
Matthew 15:7
Ye hypocrites! - See the notes at Matthew 7:5. Hypocrisy is the concealment of some base principle under the pretence of religion. Never was there a clearer instance of it than this an attempt to get rid of the duty of providing for needy parents under an appearance of piety toward God.
Esaias - That is, Isaiah. This prophecy is found in Isaiah 29:13.
Prophesy of you - That is, he spoke of the people of his day of the Jews, as Jews - in terms that apply to the whole people. He properly characterized the nation in calling them hypocrites. The words are applicable to the nation at all times, and they apply, therefore, to you. He did not mean particularly to speak of the nation in the time of Christ, but he spoke of them as having a national character of hypocrisy. Compare the notes at Matthew 1:22-23.
Matthew 15:8
Draweth nigh unto me with their mouth ... - That is, they are regular in the forms of worship; they are strict in ceremonial observances, and keep the law outwardly; but God requires the heart, and that they have not rendered.
Matthew 15:9
In vain do they worship me - That is, their attempts to worship are âvain,â or are not real worship - they are mere âforms.â
Teaching for doctrines ... - The word âdoctrines,â here, means the requirements of religion - things to be believed and practiced in religion.
God only has a right to declare what shall be done in his service; but they held their traditions to be superior to the written word of God, and taught them as doctrines binding the conscience. See the notes at Isaiah 29:13.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Matthew 15:5. It is a gift — קר×× korban, Mark 7:11, an offering of approach; something consecrated to the service of God in the temple, by which a man had the privilege of approaching his Maker. This conduct was similar to the custom of certain persons who bequeath the inheritance of their children to Churches or religious uses; either through terror of conscience, thus striving to purchase the kingdom of glory; or through the persuasion of interested hireling priests. It was in this way that, in the days of popish influence, the principal lands in the nation had fallen into the hands of the Church. In those charters, multitudes of which have passed through my hands, a common form was, pro salute meae, et pro salute antecessorum meorum, et pro salute successorum meorum, et pro solute uxoris meae, c., c., do, et concedo Deo et Ecclesiae, &c. "For my salvation, and for the salvation of my predecessors, and for the salvation of my successors, and for the salvation of my wife, &c., &c., I give and bequeath to God and his Church, &c."
Though a world of literature was destroyed, and fine buildings ruined, by the suppression of the monasteries in England, yet this step, with the Stat. 23 Hen. VIII. c. 10, together with the Stat. 9 Geo. II. c. 36, ware the means of checking an evil that had arrived at a pitch of unparalleled magnitude an evil that was supplanting the atonement made by the blood of the covenant, and putting death-bed grants of land, c., in the place of Jesus Christ, and throwing the whole secular power of the kingdom into the hands of the pope and the priests. No wonder then that they cried out, when the monasteries were suppressed! It is sacrilege to dedicate that to God which is taken away from the necessities of our parents and children and the good that this pretends to will doubtless be found in the catalogue of that unnatural man's crimes, in the judgment of the great day, who has thus deprived his own family of its due. To assist our poor relatives, is our first duty and this is a work infinitely preferable to all pious legacies and endowments.
