15:6a
he need not honor his father or mother with it: There are two ways to interpret the clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he need not honor his father:
(1) It means that he is forbidden from honoring his father. He must not give to his father the money/things that he vowed to give to God. This is because a vow is sacred and must not be broken. If a vow is made pledging money to God, then that money must never be used for anything else. He must not honor/help his father with it. For example:
must not honour his father or his mother (Revised English Bible)
(New International Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)
(2) It means that he is not required to honor his father. He is free from the obligation to honor his father. He no longer needs to honor his father. For example:
they do not need to honor their father (Good News Translation)
-or-
it is not necessary for him to honor his father
(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, English Standard Version, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation (2004), Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This interpretation better fits the Greek. (The Greek is more literally “he shall not honor his father.”) It also fits the parallel passage in Mark 7:12 “you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother.”
Here are some other issues to consider when translating this clause:
(a) This clause says that there are only certain ways that a person must not honor his parents. It applies only to the money, goods, or property that a person has already vowed to give to God. The Pharisees were not forbidding a person from honoring his parents in general. There were still many other ways they required a person to honor his parents. For this reason, the Berean Standard Bible adds the phrase with it. For example:
he is not to ‘honor his father’ with it (New International Version)
-or-
he is forbidden from honoring his father ⌊with that money⌋
(b) This clause continues the teaching of the Pharisees. In some languages, it may be natural to make this more clear. For example:
You teach that person not to honor his father or his mother (New Century Version)
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
⌊you say that⌋ he is forbidden from honoring his father ⌊and mother⌋ ⌊with those goods⌋
-or-
⌊you teach that person that⌋ he must not honor his parents ⌊with that money⌋
his father or mother: Many Greek manuscripts have his father. Some Greek manuscripts add “and his mother.” Even in those manuscripts that have only his father, it is implied that the mother is included as well. In some languages, it may be more natural to include this implied information. For example:
his father or his mother (New Century Version)
-or-
your parents (Contemporary English Version)
15:6b
Thus: Verse 15:6b is the conclusion that Jesus made. The Berean Standard Bible introduces this conclusion with the conjunction Thus.
Here are some other ways to introduce this conclusion:
In this way (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Therefore
you nullify the word of God: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as nullify also means “cancel out,” “reject,” or “disregard.” People could justify not helping their parents. But in doing so, they broke the command to honor one’s parents.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
You rejected what God said (New Century Version)
-or-
you have destroyed the authority of God’s word (God’s Word)
-or-
You ignore God’s commands (Contemporary English Version)
for the sake of your tradition: In Greek, this phrase is the same phrase as in 15:3. It means “because of” or “on account of.”
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Because of your traditions (God’s Word)
-or-
in order to follow your own customs
-or-
and follow your own teaching
-or-
by following your own customs
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