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Matthew 15
New Matthew Bible
Matthew 15
New Matthew Bible
Christ defends his disciples, and rebukes the scribes and Pharisees for transgressing God’s commandments through their own precepts. What goes into the mouth does not defile a man. He delivers the Canaanite woman’s daughter, heals the multitude, and with seven loaves and a few little fishes feeds 4,000 men, as well as women and children.
15 Then scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 Why do your disciples transgress the precepts of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. 3 He answered and said to them, And why do you transgress the commandment of God through your precepts? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honour your father and mother, and, He who curses father or mother shall suffer death. 5 But you say every man should tell his father or mother, That which you desire of me, to help you with, is given for God – 6 and so he should not honour his father or mother. And thus you have made the commandment of God to be without effect, through your precepts. 7 Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draws near to me with their mouths, and honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 And in vain they worship me, teaching doctrines which are nothing but men’s precepts.
10 And he called the people to him and said to them, Hear and understand: 11 that which goes into the mouth does not defile a man, but that which comes out of the mouth defiles a man.
12 Then his disciples came and said to him, Do you perceive how the Pharisees are offended in hearing this saying? 13 He answered and said, All plants that my heavenly Father has not planted shall be plucked up by the roots. 14 Let them alone. They are the blind leaders of the blind. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch.
15 Then Peter answered and said to him, Explain the parable to us. 16 Jesus said, Are you still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes in at the mouth descends down into the stomach, and is cast out into the drain? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, breaking of wedlock, whoredom, theft, bearing of false witness, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person.
21 And Jesus went from there, and withdrew to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a woman who was a Canaanite came out of the same region and cried out to him, saying, Have mercy on me, Lord Son of David! My daughter is piteously vexed with a devil. 23 But he gave her never a word in answer. Then his disciples came to him and urged him, saying, Send her away; she is following us, crying. 24 He answered and said, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then she came and worshipped him, saying, Master, help me! 26 He answered and said, It is not good to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs. 27 She answered and said, True, Lord; nevertheless, the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their master’s table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith! Let it be unto you even as you desire.
And her daughter was made whole even at that same hour.
29 Then Jesus went away from there, and came near to the Sea of Galilee, 30 and went up on a mountain and sat down there. And crowds of people came to him, having with them people who were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and put them down at Jesus’ feet. 31 And he healed them, and the people were in wonderment to see the dumb speak, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, I have compassion on the people, because they have continued with me now for three days, and have nothing to eat. I do not want to let them go away without eating, lest they faint along the road. 33 And his disciples said to him, Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a great number of people? 34 And Jesus said to them, How many loaves do you have? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he directed the people to sit down on the ground, 36 and took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and broke them, and gave them to his disciples; and the disciples gave them to the people. 37 And they did all eat, and were satisfied. And of the pieces left over they took up seven baskets full – 38 and yet those who ate were 4,000 men, as well as women and children.
39 And Jesus sent the people away, boarded the boat, and went to the region of Magdala.
Matthew 15
New International Version
Matthew 15
New International Version
That Which Defiles(A)
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”(B)
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a](C) and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b](D) 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.(E)’[c](F)”
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them,(G) but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”(H)
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted(I) will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides.[d](J) If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”(K)
15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”(L)
16 “Are you still so dull?”(M) Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart,(N) and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.(O) 20 These are what defile a person;(P) but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman(Q)
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.(R) 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David,(S) have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”(T)
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”(U)
25 The woman came and knelt before him.(V) “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith!(W) Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand(X)(Y)(Z)
29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.(AA) 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.(AB)
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people;(AC) they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them(AD) and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.(AE) 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
- Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
- Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13
- Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind
New Matthew Bible (NMB)
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
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