MAT 15:3 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. ὁ
2. ho
3. he
4. -
5. 35880
6. R···3NMS
7. he
8. he
9. -
10. Y32; R9958; Person=Jesus
11. 9989
1. Δέ
2. de
3. And
4. -
5. 11610
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. S
10. Y32
11. 9990
1. ἀποκριθείς
2. apokrinō
3. answering
4. -
5. 6110
6. VPAP·NMS
7. answering
8. answering
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9991
1. εἶπεν
2. legō
3. said
4. responded
5. 30040
6. VIAA3··S
7. said
8. said
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9992
1. αὐτοῖς
2. autos
3. to them
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3DMP
7. ˱to˲ them
8. ˱to˲ them
9. -
10. Y32; R9963; R9964
11. 9993
1. Διά
2. dia
3. For/Because reason
4. -
5. 12230
6. P·······
7. for_reason
8. for_reason
9. D
10. Y32
11. 9994
1. τί
2. ti
3. why
4. -
5. 50845
6. D·······
7. why
8. why
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9995
1. καί
2. kai
3. also
4. -
5. 25320
6. D·······
7. also
8. also
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9996
1. ὑμεῖς
2. su
3. you all
4. -
5. 47710
6. R···2N·P
7. you_all
8. you_all
9. -
10. Y32; R9963; R9964
11. 9997
1. παραβαίνετε
2. parabainō
3. are breaking from
4. break
5. 38450
6. VIPA2··P
7. ˓are˒ breaking_from
8. ˓are˒ breaking_from
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9998
1. τήν
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AFS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9999
1. ἐντολήν
2. entolē
3. command
4. command
5. 17850
6. N····AFS
7. command
8. commandment
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10000
1. τοῦ
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····GMS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10001
1. Θεοῦ
2. theos
3. of god
4. -
5. 23160
6. N····GMS
7. ˱of˲ god
8. ˱of˲ God
9. GN
10. Y32; Person=God
11. 10002
1. διά
2. dia
3. because of
4. because
5. 12230
6. P·······
7. because_of
8. because_of
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10003
1. τήν
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AFS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10004
1. παράδοσιν
2. paradosis
3. tradition
4. tradition
5. 38620
6. N····AFS
7. tradition
8. tradition
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10005
1. ὑμῶν
2. su
3. of you all
4. your
5. 47710
6. R···2G·P
7. ˱of˲ you_all
8. ˱of˲ you_all
9. -
10. Y32; R9963; R9964
11. 10006

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 15:1–20: The deeds that make someone unclean in God’s eyes

Over the years, Jewish religious leaders added many oral rules to God’s written laws. The Pharisees and teachers of the law considered these oral rules (also called traditions) to be as important as God’s written laws. One of their rules was that a person must wash his hands a certain way before he ate food. If a Jew did not follow this rule before he ate, they considered him ceremonially “unclean.” This meant that they did not allow him to worship God in public for a certain amount of time. Jesus made it clear that there was something far more important than how a person washed his hands. The important thing was the condition of his heart.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Jesus Challenges the Pharisees’ Traditions (GW)

Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity/Cleanliness

There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 7:1–23 and Luke 11:37–39.

15:3

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

Jesus answered, “Why do you^(plur) disobey God’s command because of your tradition?
Jesus asked them, “And you? Why do you follow your own traditions/customs and/but break the laws of God?
Jesus responded/said, “And what about you? You do not follow/obey God’s laws in order to follow your own customs. That’s not right!

Jesus replied: Jesus responded to the question of the Pharisees and scribes with his own question. In some languages, it may be more natural to use a verb other than replied here. For example:

But Jesus responded

Jesus asked in reply

And: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as And connects this question to the Pharisees’ question in 15:2a. The Pharisees rebuked/scolded the disciples, and Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in reply.

In some languages, it may be more natural to leave this conjunction untranslated. For example:

Why do you break the commandment of God because of your traditions? (GW)

why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?: This is a rhetorical question. It is a rebuke. Jesus rebuked/scolded the Pharisees and scribes because they followed their traditions even when it meant that they were required to break a command of God. Jesus implied that it was more serious to break a written commandment of God than break an oral tradition of the elders.

Here are some other ways to translate this rebuke:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
Why do you disobey God’s command in order to follow your own customs?
When you follow your own customs, it causes you to break one of God’s laws? Why do you do that?
As a statement. For example:
You break a command of God to follow your tradition. That’s wrong!

Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.

you: The pronoun you is emphasized in Greek. Jesus used this emphasis to contrast the Pharisees and scribes with his disciples.

Here are some ways to translate this pronoun:

What about you?

How about you?

break: This word is the same word as the word “break” in 15:2a. You should translate it in the same way.

the command of God: This phrase refers to the commandments that God gave to his people through Moses. They are the written commandments/laws.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

the law of God

for the sake of your tradition: The Greek word that the BSB translates as for the sake of means “because of” or “on account of.”

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

you break the commandment of God because of your traditions (GW)

you set aside God’s laws in order to follow your own customs

you disobey God and follow your own teaching (CEV)

by following your own customs, you do not obey God’s laws

when you follow your own customs, it causes you to break God’s laws

your tradition: This phrase is parallel to the phrase “the tradition of the elders” in 15:2a. But notice that Jesus, even though he was a Jew, did not say “our tradition” or “the tradition of the elders.” He did not consider these traditions to be as important as God’s written law.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

your traditions (GW)

your own laws/rules

your own teaching (CEV)

your own customs

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

διὰ τί καὶ ὑμεῖς παραβαίνετε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν?

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς Διά τί καί ὑμεῖς παραβαίνετε τήν ἐντολήν τοῦ Θεοῦ διά τήν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν)

Jesus is using the question form to rebuke the Pharisees for things that they do. If you would not use the question form for this purpose in your language, you could translate this as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [You should not transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition.] or [I am shocked that you transgress the commandment of God because of your traditions!]

Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result

διὰ τί καὶ ὑμεῖς παραβαίνετε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν

If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these phrases, since the last phrase gives the reason for the result that the rest of the question describes. Alternate translation: [Why, because of your tradition, do you also transgress the commandment of God]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / possession

τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ

Here Jesus is using the possessive form to describe a commandment that came from God. If this is not clear in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the commandment given by God] or [the commandment we received from God]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of commandment, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [what God commanded us]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns

τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν

If your language does not use an abstract noun for the idea of tradition, you could express the same idea in another way. Alternate translation: [what you were taught]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

1. OET-LV words
2. OET-RV words
3. Strongs
4. Greek word
5. Greek lemma
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. And
2. -
3. 11610
4. S
5. de
6. C-·······
7. and
8. and
9. S
10. Y32
11. 9990
1. he
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. R-···3NMS
7. he
8. he
9. -
10. Y32; R9958; Person=Jesus
11. 9989
1. answering
2. -
3. 6110
5. apokrinō
6. V-PAP·NMS
7. answering
8. answering
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9991
1. said
2. responded
3. 30040
5. legō
6. V-IAA3··S
7. said
8. said
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9992
1. to them
2. -
3. 8460
5. autos
6. R-···3DMP
7. ˱to˲ them
8. ˱to˲ them
9. -
10. Y32; R9963; R9964
11. 9993
1. For/Because
2. -
3. 12230
4. D
5. dia
6. P-·······
7. for_reason
8. for_reason
9. D
10. Y32
11. 9994
1. why
2. -
3. 50845
5. ti
6. D-·······
7. why
8. why
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9995
1. reason
2. -
3. 12230
4. D
5. dia
6. P-·······
7. for_reason
8. for_reason
9. D
10. Y32
11. 9994
1. also
2. -
3. 25320
5. kai
6. D-·······
7. also
8. also
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9996
1. you all
2. -
3. 47710
5. su
6. R-···2N·P
7. you_all
8. you_all
9. -
10. Y32; R9963; R9964
11. 9997
1. are breaking from
2. break
3. 38450
5. parabainō
6. V-IPA2··P
7. ˓are˒ breaking_from
8. ˓are˒ breaking_from
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9998
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····AFS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 9999
1. command
2. command
3. 17850
5. entolē
6. N-····AFS
7. command
8. commandment
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10000
1. of
2. -
3. 23160
4. GN
5. theos
6. N-····GMS
7. ˱of˲ god
8. ˱of˲ God
9. GN
10. Y32; Person=God
11. 10002
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····GMS
7. ¬the
8. ¬the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10001
1. god
2. -
3. 23160
4. GN
5. theos
6. N-····GMS
7. ˱of˲ god
8. ˱of˲ God
9. GN
10. Y32; Person=God
11. 10002
1. because of
2. because
3. 12230
5. dia
6. P-·······
7. because_of
8. because_of
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10003
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····AFS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10004
1. tradition
2. tradition
3. 38620
5. paradosis
6. N-····AFS
7. tradition
8. tradition
9. -
10. Y32
11. 10005
1. of you all
2. your
3. 47710
5. su
6. R-···2G·P
7. ˱of˲ you_all
8. ˱of˲ you_all
9. -
10. Y32; R9963; R9964
11. 10006

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear MAT 15:3

SR Greek word order

Section 15:1–20: The deeds that make someone unclean in God’s eyes

15:3

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)