Matthew 15

1 Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying,2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.3 And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?4 For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death.5 But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given to God;6 he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition.7 Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

8 This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me.

9 But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.

10 And he called to him the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:11 Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man.12 Then came the disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying?13 But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up.14 Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit.15 And Peter answered and said unto him, Declare unto us the parable.16 And he said, Are ye also even yet without understanding?17 Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?18 But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man.19 For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings:20 these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man.

21 And Jesus went out thence, and withdrew into the parts of Tyre and Sidon.22 And behold, a Canaanitish woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon.23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.24 But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.25 But she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.26 And he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.27 But she said, Yea, Lord: for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was healed from that hour.

29 And Jesus departed thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and he went up into the mountain, and sat there.30 And there came unto him great multitudes, having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at this feet; and he healed them:31 insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, and lame walking, and the blind seeing: and they glorified the God of Israel.

32 And Jesus called unto him his disciples, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, lest haply they faint on the way.33 And the disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place as to fill so great a multitude?34 And Jesus said unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few small fishes.35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;36 and he took the seven loaves and the fishes; and he gave thanks and brake, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.37 And they all ate, and were filled: and they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full.38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, besides women and children.39 And he sent away the multitudes, and entered into the boat, and came into the borders of Magadan.

Matthew 15

The Teaching of the Ancestors

(Mk 7.1–13)

1 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked him,

2 “Why is it that your disciples disobey the teaching handed down by our ancestors? They don't wash their hands in the proper way before they eat!”
3 Jesus answered, “And why do you disobey God's command and follow your own teaching? 4 For God said, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.’t 5 But you teach that if a person has something he could use to help his father or mother, but says, ‘This belongs to God,’ 6 he does not need to honour his father.t In this way you disregard God's command, in order to follow your own teaching.

7 You hypocrites! How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you!

8  ‘These people, says God, honour me with their words, t
but their heart is really far away from me.

9  It is no use for them to worship me,
because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!’ ”

The Things that Make a Person Unclean

(Mk 7.14–23)

11 It is not what goes into a person's mouth that makes him ritually unclean; rather, what comes out of it makes him unclean.”

12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that the Pharisees had their feelings hurt by what you said?”
13  “Every plant which my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled up,” answered Jesus.

14 “Don't worry about them! They are blind leaders of the blind; and when one blind man leads another, both fall into a ditch.”t

15 Peter spoke up, “Explain this saying to us.”
16 Jesus said to them, “You are still no more intelligent than the others. 17 Don't you understand? Anything that goes into a person's mouth goes into his stomach and then on out of his body. 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these are the things that make a person ritually unclean.t 19 For from his heart come the evil ideas which lead him to kill, commit adultery, and do other immoral things; to rob, lie, and slander others.

20 These are the things that make a person unclean. But to eat without washing your hands as they say you should — this doesn't make a person unclean.”

A Woman's Faith

(Mk 7.24–30)

22 A Canaanite woman who lived in that region came to him. “Son of David!” she cried out. “Have mercy on me, sir! My daughter has a demon and is in a terrible condition.”

23 But Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples came to him and begged him, “Send her away! She is following us and making all this noise!”

24 Then Jesus replied, “I have been sent only to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.”

25 At this the woman came and fell at his feet. “Help me, sir!” she said.

26 Jesus answered, “It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.”

27 “That's true, sir,” she answered; “but even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters' table.”

28 So Jesus answered her, “You are a woman of great faith! What you want will be done for you.” And at that very moment her daughter was healed.

Jesus Heals Many People

31 The people were amazed as they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they praised the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds Another Great Crowd

(Mk 8.1–10)

32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away without feeding them, for they might faint on their way home.”

33 The disciples asked him, “Where will we find enough food in this desert to feed this crowd?”

34  “How much bread have you?” Jesus asked.
“Seven loaves,” they answered, “and a few small fish.”
35 So Jesus ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to the disciples; and the disciples gave them to the people. 37 They all ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over.

38 The number of men who ate was 4,000, not counting the women and children.
39 Then Jesus sent the people away, got into a boat, and went to the territory of Magadan.