Matthew 15
Worldwide English (New Testament)
15 Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus.
2 They asked him, `Why do your disciples break the law our fathers made? They do not wash their hands before they eat.'
3 Jesus asked them, `Why do you break God's law so that you can keep your own law?
4 God said, "Respect your father and your mother." And God said, "Anyone who says wrong things to his father or his mother will surely die."
5 `But you say, "Tell your father or your mother that you have given to God what you were going to give to them." You say, "If anyone says that, then he does not need to help his father or mother."
6 You make God's law to mean nothing so you can keep your own laws!
7 You are not true to yourselves! What Isaiah said about you was true. He said,
8 "These people respect me with their mouth but their heart is far from me.
9 They do not mean it in their hearts when they worship me. Their teachings are only the words of men." '
10 Jesus called the people to him. He said to them, `Listen to me and understand what I say.
11 What goes into a person's mouth does not make him dirty. But what comes out of a person's mouth makes him dirty.'
12 Then the disciples came to Jesus. They said, `The Pharisees were angry when they heard what you said. Did you know that?'
13 Jesus answered, `Every plant that my Father in heaven did not plant will be pulled out by the roots.
14 Leave them alone. They are blind men who are trying to lead blind men. If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a hole.'
15 Peter said to Jesus, `Tell us the meaning of that story.'
16 Jesus said, `Do you still not understand?
17 Do you not know this? What goes into the mouth goes into the stomach, and then it goes out of the body.
18 But what comes out of the mouth, comes from the heart. This is what makes a person dirty.
19 Here is what comes from the heart: wrong thoughts, killing people, all kinds of adultery, stealing, lying, and saying wrong things about people.
20 These things make a person dirty. To eat with hands that are not washed does not make him dirty.'
21 Jesus left that place and went to the country of Tyre and Sidon. 22A woman of the people of Canaan was in that country. She called out, `Sir, you are the Son of David. Help me! My daughter is being troubled very much by a bad spirit.'
22 Jesus did not answer her. His disciples came to him and said, `Send her away. She keeps calling after us.'
23 He said, `I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.'
24 But the woman came and bowed down in front of Jesus and worshipped him. She said, `Sir, help me.'
25 He said, `It is not right to take the children's food and give it to the little dogs.'
26 She answered, `Yes, sir. But even the little dogs eat the food that falls from the tables of their masters.'
27 Then Jesus answered, `Woman, you believe very much. The thing you want me to do will be done.' And her daughter was healed at that very time.
28 Jesus went on from there along the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat down there.
29 Many people came to him. They brought sick people with them. Some were lame. Some were hurt. Some were blind. Some could not talk. And there were many others. They laid them down in front of Jesus. And he healed them.
30 The people were surprised. They saw that people who had not been able to talk were talking. They saw that people who were hurt were made well. They saw that lame people were walking. They saw that blind people could see. And they praised the God of Israel.
31 Jesus called his disciples to him. He said, `I share the suffering of the people. They have been with me for three days and they have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry. If they go away hungry, they will get weak and fall on the way.'
32 The disciples said to him, `Where can we get enough food in this lonely place to feed so many people?'
33 Jesus said to them, `How many loaves of bread have you?' They said, `We have seven, and a few small fish.'
34 He told the people to sit down on the ground.
35 Then he took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. He thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and gave it to the disciples. The disciples gave it to the people.
36 They all ate and had enough. They gathered seven baskets full of pieces that were left.
37 The number of people who ate was about four thousand men, besides some women and children.
38 Jesus sent the people away. Then he got in the boat and went to the country around Magadan.
Matthew 15
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Jesus Condemns The Pharisees For Obeying Their Traditions Instead of God’s Commands
15 Then Pharisees and scribes come to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2 “For what reason are Your disciples transgressing the tradition of the elders? For they are not washing[a] their hands when they eat bread”. 3 But the One, having responded, said to them, “For what reason indeed are you transgressing the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said [in Ex 20:12]: ‘Be honoring your father and your mother’, and [in Ex 21:17] ‘Let the one speaking-evil-of father or mother come-to-an-end[b] by a death’. 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or his mother: “Whatever you might be benefitted from me is a gift[c] [to God]” 6 shall by-no-means honor[d] his father’. And you nullified[e] the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly concerning you, saying [in Isa 29:13]: 8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far distant from Me. 9 But they are worshiping Me in-vain[f]— teaching as teachings the commandments of humans’”. 10 And having summoned the crowd, He said to them, “Listen and understand. 11 The thing entering into the mouth does not defile[g] the person. But the thing proceeding out of the mouth— this defiles the person”.
The Pharisees Focus On What Goes Into The Body Versus What Comes From The Heart
12 Then having come to Him, the disciples say to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees, having heard Your statement, took-offense[h]? 13 But the One, having responded, said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone. They are blind guides of blind ones. And if a blind one guides a blind one, both will fall into a pit”. 15 And having responded, Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us”. 16 And the One said, “Are you[i] even yet also without-understanding? 17 Do you not perceive that everything proceeding into the mouth advances into the stomach and is expelled into a latrine? 18 But the things proceeding out of the mouth come out of the heart. And those things defile the person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts[j], murders, adulteries, sexual-immoralities, thefts, false-testimonies[k], blasphemies. 20 These are the things defiling the person. But the eating with unwashed hands does not defile the person”.
A Gentile Woman Begs For Crumbs From The Master’s Table
21 And having gone out from there, Jesus withdrew into the regions of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold— a Canaanite woman having come out from those districts was crying out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Master, Son of David. My daughter is badly demon-possessed”. 23 But the One did not respond a word to her. And having come to Him, His disciples were asking Him, saying, “Send her away, because she is crying-out after us”. 24 But the One, having responded, said, “I was not sent-forth except for[l] the lost[m] sheep of the house of Israel”. 25 But the one, having come, was prostrating-herself before Him, saying, “Master, help me”. 26 And the One, having responded, said, “It is not good to take the bread of the children and throw it to the little-dogs[n]”. 27 But the one said, “Yes, Master. For indeed the little-dogs eat from the crumbs falling from the table of their masters!” 28 Then, having responded, Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you wish”. And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Jesus Again Creates Bread And Fish For a Group of 4000 Men
29 And having passed on from there, Jesus went beside the Sea of Galilee. And having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. 30 And large crowds came to Him, having with them lame ones, blind ones, crippled ones, mute ones, and many others. And they threw[o] them at His feet. And He cured them, 31 so that the crowd marveled— seeing mute ones speaking, crippled ones healthy, and lame ones walking, and blind ones seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. 32 And Jesus, having summoned His disciples, said, “I feel-deep-feelings [of compassion] toward the crowd, because it is already three days they are remaining-with Me and they do not have anything they may eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, so that they may not perhaps become-exhausted[p] on the way”. 33 And the disciples say to Him, “From where are there so many loaves for us in a desolate place so as to fill-to-satisfaction so large a crowd?” 34 And Jesus says to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And the ones said, “Seven, and a few small-fish”. 35 And having ordered the crowd to fall-back on the ground [to eat], 36 He took the seven loaves and the fish. And having given-thanks, He broke them and was giving them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were filled-to-satisfaction. And they picked up the amount of the fragments being left-over— seven full large-baskets. 38 And the ones eating were four-thousand men, apart from women and children.
The Pharisees Ask For a Sign From Heaven. No Sign Will Be Given Except Jonah’s
39 And having sent away the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the districts of Magadan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:2 See Mark’s explanation of this in Mk 7:3-4.
- Matthew 15:4 That is, die. ‘Come to an end by a death’ imitates a Hebrew idiom meaning, ‘Let him surely die’.
- Matthew 15:5 Or, offering.
- Matthew 15:6 In other words, if you vow to give your estate to God when you die, then you must no longer honor the request of your parent to have some present benefit from it.
- Matthew 15:6 Or, voided, invalidated, annulled.
- Matthew 15:9 Or, to no end, pointlessly, futilely.
- Matthew 15:11 Or, make unclean or impure. It is disobedience to God’s Law that defiles. Their rules about ritual defilement are not part of God’s Law.
- Matthew 15:12 Or, were caused to fall, were offended. This is because v 3-11 are a direct attack on the Pharisees as teachers, and on their traditions.
- Matthew 15:16 This is plural, addressing them all.
- Matthew 15:19 Or, reasonings.
- Matthew 15:19 Or, perjuries, if in a courtroom setting.
- Matthew 15:24 Or, to.
- Matthew 15:24 That is, having gotten lost.
- Matthew 15:26 Or, house dogs, lap dogs. Jesus answers her with a proverbial-type statement, and she responds in the same way.
- Matthew 15:30 Or, hurled, flung, tossed. This indicates not violence, but haste and urgency.
- Matthew 15:32 Or, faint, give out.
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Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
