Chapter 15

Tradition and Commandment

1 aThen some Pharisees and scribes * came to Jesus bfrom Jerusalem and said,

2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they ado not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

4 “For God said, ‘aHonor your father and mother,’ and, ‘bHe who speaks evil of father or mother is to 1be put to death.’

5 “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been 1given to God,”

6 he is not to honor his father or his mother1.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

7 “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

8 ‘aThis people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

9 ‘But in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as adoctrines the precepts of men.’ ”

10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand.

11 “aIt is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

12 Then the disciples * came and * said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were 1offended when they heard this statement?”

13 But He answered and said, “aEvery plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.

14 “Let them alone; athey are blind guides 1of the blind. And bif a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

15 Peter 1said to Him, “aExplain the parable to us.”

16 1Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also?

17 “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is 1eliminated?

18 “But athe things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.

19 “aFor out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, 1fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

20 “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The Syrophoenician Woman

21 aJesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of bTyre and bSidon.

22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, aSon of David; my daughter is cruelly bdemon-possessed.”

23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting 1at us.”

24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to athe lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 But she came and abegan 1to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26 And He answered and said, “It is not 1good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; 1but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, ayour faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed 1at once.

Healing Crowds

29 aDeparting from there, Jesus went along by bthe Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.

30 And 1large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and aHe healed them.

31 So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled 1restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they aglorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Fed

32 aAnd Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “bI feel compassion for the 1people, because they 2have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.”

33 The disciples * said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?”

34 And Jesus * said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

35 And He directed the 1people to 2sit down on the ground;

36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and agiving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large abaskets full.

38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39 And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into athe boat and came to the region of bMagadan.