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New Living Translation
Matthew 15:8
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This people
This people draweth nigh vnto mee with their mouth, and honoureth mee with their lips: but their heart is farre from me.
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
"‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
‘These people show honor to me with words, but their hearts are far from me.
'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
This people draweth neere vnto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with the lips, but their heart is farre off from me.
'THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
‘This people honors Me with their lips,But their heart is far away from Me.
'These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
"All of you praise me with your words, but you never really think about me.
‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me.
This people honour me with the lips, but their heart is far away from me;
‘These people honor me with their words, but I am not really important to them.
This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.
‘These people, says God, honor me with their words, but their heart is really far away from me.
‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far, far away from me,
"This people draws near to Me with their mouth, and with their lips honor Me; but their heart holds far off from Me.
This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me.
These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
'These people draw near to me with their mouth, And honor me with their lips; But their heart is far from me.
'These people honor me with their lips,Isaiah 29:13; Ezekiel 33:31;">[xr] but their hearts are far from me.
This people with the lips honour me, but their heart (is) very far from me.
This people honoreth me with the lips, but their heart is far from me.
This people draweth nye vnto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lippes: howbeit, their hearts are farre from me.
This people honoureth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me.
'These people draw near to me with their mouth, And honor me with their lips; But their heart is far from me.
This people draweth nigh to me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
"`This is a People who honour Me with their lips, while their heart is far away from Me;
and seide, This puple honourith me with lippis, but her herte is fer fro me;
This people honors me with their lips; But their heart is far from me.
This people draw nigh to me with their mouth, and honor me with [their] lips; but their heart is far from me.
‘ This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,
'These people draw near to Me with their mouth,And [fn] honor Me with their lips,But their heart is far from Me.
'These people show respect to Me with their mouth, but their heart is far from Me.
‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
This people, with the lips, do, honour, me, while, their heart, far off, holdeth from me;
This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me.
'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
This people draweth nye vnto me with their mouthes and honoureth me with their lippes howbe it their hertes are farre from me:
This people doth draw nigh to Me with their mouth, and with the lips it doth honour Me, but their heart is far off from Me;
This people draweth nye vnto me wt their mouth, & honoureth me wt their lippes, howbeit, their hert is farre fro me.
"this people, says he, draw nigh to me, they honour me with their lips: while their hearts are far from me.
'All of you have real pretty words for me, but I never even cross your mind.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
draweth: Isaiah 29:13, Ezekiel 33:31, John 1:47, 1 Peter 3:10
but: Proverbs 23:26, Jeremiah 12:2, Acts 8:21, Hebrews 3:12
Reciprocal: Leviticus 3:3 - the fat Leviticus 13:8 - General 1 Samuel 7:3 - prepare 1 Samuel 21:7 - detained 1 Kings 12:32 - like unto Psalms 17:1 - not out of feigned lips Psalms 73:27 - lo Isaiah 45:19 - Seek Isaiah 48:1 - not in truth Jeremiah 2:5 - are gone Jeremiah 34:15 - ye Jeremiah 42:1 - came Ezekiel 20:3 - As I Ezekiel 33:30 - Come John 4:24 - must Ephesians 5:19 - making
Cross-References
But Abram replied, "O Sovereign Lord , what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since you've given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.
Then the Lord said to him, "No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir."
The Lord told him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon."
So Abram presented all these to him and killed them. Then he cut each animal down the middle and laid the halves side by side; he did not, however, cut the birds in half.
Then the Lord said to Abram, "You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.
But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.
After the sun went down and darkness fell, Abram saw a smoking firepot and a flaming torch pass between the halves of the carcasses.
Meanwhile, Hezekiah had said to Isaiah, "What sign will the Lord give to prove that he will heal me and that I will go to the Temple of the Lord three days from now?"
Send me a sign of your favor. Then those who hate me will be put to shame, for you, O Lord , help and comfort me.
"Ask the Lord your God for a sign of confirmation, Ahaz. Make it as difficult as you want—as high as heaven or as deep as the place of the dead."
Gill's Notes on the Bible
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth,.... The preface to these words, or the form in which they are introduced by the prophet; "wherefore the Lord said", is left out in this citation, being unnecessary here, though of the greatest importance there; partly to show, that what was about to be said, was not the prophet's own words, but the words of the Lord, of which the Jews in Christ's time made no doubt; and partly to give a reason why that judicial blindness, threatened in the context, should be inflicted on them, which is no part of Christ's design here; but which is only to show, that the description here given exactly agrees with them, and so proves, and confirms the character he gives of them as hypocrites. They approached the ordinances of God, and drew nigh to him, and attended him in outward worship; they prayed unto him publicly, and constantly, in the streets, in the synagogues, and temple, and with much seeming devotion and sanctity:
and honoureth me with their lips: they owned him to be their creator and preserver; they made their boast of him, and of their knowledge of him, as the one only living, and true God, and as the God of Israel; they brought their sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving, even the fruit of their lips, unto him, for their many peculiar mercies, privileges, and favours, as a nation, church, and people, and with much seeming sincerity and affection.
But their heart is far from me; they had no true love to God, nor faith in him, nor fear of him; they were not at all concerned for his presence with them, or for communion with him, or for his honour and glory; their hearts were in the world, and after their covetousness; they made religion a tool to their secular purposes, supposing gain to be godliness; sought the applause of men, and contented themselves with bodily exercise; having no regard to internal religion, powerful godliness, or where their hearts were, so be it, their bodies were presented to God in public worship; and what they did it was to be seen and approved of men, not caring what the searcher of hearts knew concerning them, or what he required of them.
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 “elders” literally means “old men.” Here it means the “ancients,” or their “ancestors.” The “tradition of the elders” 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 “the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.” 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 “found fault” 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 “honor” is to obey, to reverence, to speak kindly to, to speak and think well of. To “curse” 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, “let him surely die.” 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 “corban.” The word “corban” 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 קרבן qaarbaan or κορβᾶν korban, or some similar word, saying, this thing is “corban,” 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. “Vow and pay unto the Lord your God,” 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 “corban,” 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, “It is devoted to God; this property which you need, and by which you might be profited by me, is “corban” - I have given it to God;” 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 “taboo,” or “tabooed;” 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, “All that I have which could profit you I have given to God,” 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. “No 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.”
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 “vain,” or are not real worship - they are mere “forms.”
Teaching for doctrines ... - The word “doctrines,” 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 15:8. Their heart is far from me. — The true worship of God consists in the union of the heart to him - where this exists not, a particle of the spirit of devotion cannot be found.
This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth — This clause, which is taken from Isaiah 29:13, is omitted by several excellent MSS., and by several versions and fathers. Erasmus, Mill, Drusius, and Bengel, approve of the omission, and Griesbach has left it out of the text; but as I find it in the prophet, the place from which it is quoted, I dare not omit it, howsoever respectable the above authorities may appear.
