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15 Then come unto Jesus do they from Jerusalem -- scribes and Pharisees -- saying,

`Wherefore do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they do not wash their hands when they may eat bread.'

And he answering said to them, `Wherefore also do ye transgress the command of God because of your tradition?

for God did command, saying, Honour thy father and mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother -- let him die the death;

but ye say, Whoever may say to father or mother, An offering [is] whatever thou mayest be profited by me; --

and he may not honour his father or his mother, and ye did set aside the command of God because of your tradition.

`Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

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;

and in vain do they worship Me, teaching teachings -- commands of men.'

10 And having called near the multitude, he said to them, `Hear and understand:

11 not that which is coming into the mouth doth defile the man, but that which is coming forth from the mouth, this defileth the man.'

12 Then his disciples having come near, said to him, `Hast thou known that the Pharisees, having heard the word, were stumbled?'

13 And he answering said, `Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up;

14 let them alone, guides they are -- blind of blind; and if blind may guide blind, both into a ditch shall fall.'

15 And Peter answering said to him, `Explain to us this simile.'

16 And Jesus said, `Are ye also yet without understanding?

17 do ye not understand that all that is going into the mouth doth pass into the belly, and into the drain is cast forth?

18 but the things coming forth from the mouth from the heart do come forth, and these defile the man;

19 for out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, whoredoms, thefts, false witnessings, evil speakings:

20 these are the things defiling the man; but to eat with unwashen hands doth not defile the man.'

21 And Jesus having come forth thence, withdrew to the parts of Tyre and Sidon,

22 and lo, a woman, a Canaanitess, from those borders having come forth, did call to him, saying, `Deal kindly with me, Sir -- Son of David; my daughter is miserably demonized.'

23 And he did not answer her a word; and his disciples having come to him, were asking him, saying -- `Let her away, because she crieth after us;'

24 and he answering said, `I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'

25 And having come, she was bowing to him, saying, `Sir, help me;'

26 and he answering said, `It is not good to take the children's bread, and to cast to the little dogs.'

27 And she said, `Yes, sir, for even the little dogs do eat of the crumbs that are falling from their lords' table;'

28 then answering, Jesus said to her, `O woman, great [is] thy faith, let it be to thee as thou wilt;' and her daughter was healed from that hour.

29 And Jesus having passed thence, came nigh unto the sea of Galilee, and having gone up to the mountain, he was sitting there,

30 and there came to him great multitudes, having with them lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they did cast them at the feet of Jesus, and he healed them,

31 so that the multitudes did wonder, seeing dumb ones speaking, maimed whole, lame walking, and blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

32 And Jesus having called near his disciples, said, `I have compassion upon the multitude, because now three days they continue with me, and they have not what they may eat; and to let them away fasting I will not, lest they faint in the way.'

33 And his disciples say to him, `Whence to us, in a wilderness, so many loaves, as to fill so great a multitude?'

34 And Jesus saith to them, `How many loaves have ye?' and they said, `Seven, and a few little fishes.'

35 And he commanded the multitudes to sit down upon the ground,

36 and having taken the seven loaves and the fishes, having given thanks, he did break, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

37 And they did all eat, and were filled, and they took up what was over of the broken pieces seven baskets full,

38 and those eating were four thousand men, apart from women and children.

39 And having let away the multitudes, he went into the boat, and did come to the borders of Magdala.

That Which Defiles(A)

15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”(B)

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 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) But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
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

  1. Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
  2. Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
  3. Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13
  4. Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind