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Fariseii şi datina bătrânilor

15 Atunci, nişte farisei şi nişte cărturari din Ierusalim au(A) venit la Isus şi I-au zis: „Pentru(B) ce calcă ucenicii Tăi datina(C) bătrânilor? Căci nu-şi spală mâinile când mănâncă.” Drept răspuns, El le-a zis: „Dar voi de ce călcaţi porunca lui Dumnezeu în folosul datinei voastre? Căci Dumnezeu a zis: ‘Cinsteşte(D) pe tatăl tău şi pe mama ta’ şi: ‘Cine(E) va grăi de rău pe tatăl său sau pe mama sa să fie pedepsit negreşit cu moartea’. Dar(F) voi ziceţi: ‘Cine va zice tatălui său sau mamei sale: «Ori cu ce te-aş putea ajuta», l-am închinat lui Dumnezeu, nu mai este ţinut să cinstească pe tatăl său sau pe mama sa.’ Şi aţi desfiinţat astfel cuvântul lui Dumnezeu în folosul datinei voastre. Făţărnicilor(G), bine a prorocit Isaia despre voi, când a zis: ‘Norodul acesta(H) se apropie de Mine cu gura şi mă cinsteşte cu buzele, dar inima lui este departe de Mine’. Degeaba Mă cinstesc ei învăţând(I) ca învăţături nişte porunci omeneşti.”

Lucrurile care spurcă pe om

10 Isus a chemat(J) mulţimea la Sine şi a zis: „Ascultaţi şi înţelegeţi: 11 Nu(K) ce intră în gură spurcă pe om, ci ce iese din gură, aceea spurcă pe om”. 12 Atunci, ucenicii Lui s-au apropiat şi I-au zis: „Ştii că fariseii au găsit pricină de poticnire în cuvintele pe care le-au auzit?” 13 Drept răspuns, El le-a zis: „Orice(L) răsad pe care nu l-a sădit Tatăl Meu cel ceresc va fi smuls din rădăcină. 14 Lăsaţi-i: sunt(M) nişte călăuze oarbe; şi când un orb călăuzeşte pe un alt orb, vor cădea amândoi în groapă.” 15 Petru(N) a luat cuvântul şi I-a zis: „Desluşeşte-ne pilda aceasta”. 16 Isus a zis: „Şi(O) voi tot fără pricepere sunteţi? 17 Nu înţelegeţi că orice(P) intră în gură merge în pântece şi apoi este aruncat afară în hazna? 18 Dar ce(Q) iese din gură vine din inimă, şi aceea spurcă pe om. 19 Căci(R) din inimă ies gândurile rele, uciderile, preacurviile, curviile, furtişagurile, mărturiile mincinoase, hulele. 20 Iată lucrurile care spurcă pe om, dar a mânca cu mâinile nespălate nu spurcă pe om.”

Femeia canaaneancă

21 Isus(S), după ce a plecat de acolo, S-a dus în părţile Tirului şi ale Sidonului. 22 Şi iată că o femeie canaaneancă a venit din ţinuturile acelea şi a început să strige către El: „Ai milă de mine, Doamne, Fiul lui David! Fiică-mea este muncită rău de un drac.” 23 El nu i-a răspuns niciun cuvânt. Şi ucenicii Lui s-au apropiat şi L-au rugat stăruitor: „Dă-i drumul, căci strigă după noi”. 24 Drept răspuns, El a zis: „Eu(T) nu sunt trimis decât la oile pierdute ale casei lui Israel”. 25 Dar ea a venit şi I s-a închinat, zicând: „Doamne, ajută-mi!” 26 Drept răspuns, El i-a zis: „Nu este bine să iei pâinea copiilor şi s-o arunci la căţei(U)!” 27 „Da, Doamne”, a zis ea, „dar şi căţeii mănâncă firimiturile care cad de la masa stăpânilor lor”. 28 Atunci, Isus i-a zis: „O, femeie, mare este credinţa Ta! Facă-ţi-se cum voieşti.”Şi fiica ei s-a tămăduit chiar în ceasul acela.

A doua înmulţire a pâinilor

29 Isus(V) a plecat din locurile acelea şi a venit lângă(W) Marea Galileii. S-a suit pe munte şi a şezut jos acolo. 30 Atunci(X) au venit la El multe noroade, având cu ele şchiopi, orbi, muţi, ciungi şi mulţi alţi bolnavi I-au pus la picioarele Lui şi El i-a tămăduit; 31 aşa că noroadele se mirau când au văzut că muţii vorbesc, ciungii se însănătoşesc, şchiopii umblă şi orbii văd şi slăveau pe Dumnezeul lui Israel. 32 Isus(Y) a chemat pe ucenicii Săi şi le-a zis: „Mi-este milă de gloata aceasta, căci iată că de trei zile aşteaptă lângă Mine şi n-au ce mânca. Nu vreau să le dau drumul flămânzi, ca nu cumva să leşine de foame pe drum.” 33 Ucenicii(Z) I-au zis: „De unde să luăm în pustia aceasta atâtea pâini ca să săturăm atâta gloată?” 34 „Câte pâini aveţi?” i-a întrebat Isus. „Şapte”, I-au răspuns ei, „şi puţini peştişori”. 35 Atunci, Isus a poruncit norodului să şadă pe pământ. 36 A luat(AA) cele şapte pâini şi peştişorii şi, după ce a mulţumit(AB) lui Dumnezeu, a frânt şi a dat ucenicilor, iar ucenicii au împărţit norodului. 37 Au mâncat toţi şi s-au săturat; şi s-au ridicat şapte coşniţe pline cu rămăşiţele de firimituri. 38 Cei ce mâncaseră erau patru mii de bărbaţi, afară de femei şi de copii. 39 În urmă(AC), Isus a dat drumul noroadelor, S-a suit în corabie şi a trecut în ţinutul Magdalei.

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

Traditions and Commandments

15 (A)Then Pharisees and (B)scribes came to Jesus (C)from Jerusalem and said, (D)“Why do your disciples break (E)the tradition of the elders? (F)For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, (G)‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, (H)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”[a] he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have (I)made void the word[b] of God. (J)You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

(K)“‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as (L)doctrines the commandments of men.’”

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, (M)“Hear and understand: 11 (N)it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were (O)offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, (P)“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted (Q)will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; (R)they are blind guides.[c] And (S)if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, (T)“Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, (U)“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that (V)whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?[d] 18 But (W)what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come (X)evil thoughts, (Y)murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, (Z)slander. 20 (AA)These are what defile a person. But (AB)to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 (AC)And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, (AD)a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, (AE)“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, (AF)“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, (AG)“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and (AH)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and (AI)throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat (AJ)the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, (AK)great is your faith! (AL)Let it be done for you as you desire.” (AM)And her daughter was (AN)healed instantly.[e]

Jesus Heals Many

29 (AO)Jesus went on from there and walked (AP)beside the Sea of Galilee. And he (AQ)went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them (AR)the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 (AS)so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, (AT)the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And (AU)they glorified (AV)the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 (AW)Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, (AX)“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, (AY)“Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and (AZ)having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And (BA)they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of (BB)Magadan.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 15:5 Or is an offering
  2. Matthew 15:6 Some manuscripts law
  3. Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts add of the blind
  4. Matthew 15:17 Greek is expelled into the latrine
  5. Matthew 15:28 Greek from that hour

15 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,

Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:

11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?

13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.

14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

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

17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.

19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

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 am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet 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 unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.

30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:

31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?

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

35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

Jesus tells the Pharisees and teachers of God's Law to obey God

15 After that, a group of Pharisees and teachers of God's Law came from Jerusalem to talk to Jesus. They said, ‘Our leaders in past times taught us the right way to do everything. But your disciples do not obey the things that our leaders taught us. They do not wash their hands in the right way before they eat a meal. Why is that?’

Jesus replied, ‘God tells us the right way to obey him. But you refuse. Instead, you like to keep your own ideas. God's Law says: “You must love your father and mother and obey them.” God also said, “A person should die if he says bad things against his father or against his mother.” But you teach that a person may say to his father or to his mother, “I would have given gifts to help you. But I cannot do that because I have given them to God instead.” Then, you let that person give nothing to his parents. He does not have to help them. This shows that you have not obeyed what God says is right. Instead, you have obeyed your own ideas. You are hypocrites! What God's prophet Isaiah wrote about you long ago is true:

God says, “These people say good things about me,
    but they do not really want to obey me.
They say that I am great.
    But what they say has no purpose.
    They teach their own rules, which I did not give to them.” ’

Jesus talks about the wrong things that people do

10 Jesus asked the crowd of people to come to him. He said to them, ‘Listen to me, so that you can understand my message. 11 It is not food that goes into people's mouths that makes them unclean. Instead, what comes out of people's mouths is important. It may show that what is inside them is unclean.’

12 Then Jesus' disciples went to him, and they said, ‘The Pharisees heard what you said. They did not agree with what you said. Do you know that?’

13 Jesus replied, ‘Those Pharisees are like plants that my Father God did not put in the ground. Like a farmer, he will completely pull all those plants out of the ground. 14 Do not listen to what the Pharisees say. They are blind, but they try to show people which way to go. A blind person cannot lead another blind person. If he does, then both of them will fall into a deep hole.’

15 Peter said to Jesus, ‘Explain to us what you mean.’

16 Jesus replied, ‘I am surprised that you still do not understand what I am saying. 17 You should understand that food first goes into people's mouths. Then it goes into their stomach, and then it passes out of their body. 18 The words that people speak come from their thoughts. It is what comes out of their mouths that makes them unclean. 19 Evil thoughts come out from people's minds. As a result, they do wrong things. They murder people. They have sex with another man's wife. They have sex in other wrong ways. They rob people. They tell lies about other people. They insult people.

20 It is these bad things that make people unclean. But if people eat food when they have not washed their hands in the right way, that will not make them unclean.’

Jesus makes a girl well again

21 Then, Jesus left that place. He went away to some places near to the cities called Tyre and Sidon.

22 A woman was living in this part of the country. She was one of the Canaanite people. She came to see Jesus. She was shouting with a loud voice, ‘Son of David, help me, sir! A bad spirit is living inside my daughter. It is giving her much pain.’

23 Jesus did not say anything to the woman. So his disciples came to him. They said, ‘Please, send this woman away. She is following us and she is making a lot of noise.’

24 Jesus replied to his disciples, ‘God has sent me to help only the people of Israel. They are like sheep that have lost their way.’

25 Then the woman came to Jesus and she went down on her knees in front of him. ‘Sir, please help me,’ she said.

26 Jesus did answer the woman this time. He said, ‘It is not right to take food from the children and then throw it to the dogs.’

27 The woman replied to Jesus. ‘Yes sir, that is true. But even the dogs eat the small pieces of food that fall from their master's table.’

28 Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, you show clearly that you believe in God. God will do what you have asked.’

At that moment the woman's daughter became well again.

29 Jesus travelled on from that place and he walked along the shore of Lake Galilee. He climbed up a hill and he sat down there. 30 Large crowds of people came to him and they brought sick people with them. Some of these sick people could not walk very well, and some of them were blind. Some of them could not use their arms or their legs. Some of them could not speak. There were many other sick people who had different illnesses. Their friends put the sick people in front of Jesus. And Jesus caused them all to become well again. 31 When the large crowd saw all this, they were very surprised. People who could not speak could now speak again. People who could not use their arms or their legs were now well again. Those people who could not walk very well could now walk again. Blind people could now see again. All the people praised God, and they said, ‘God of Israel, you are great.’

Jesus feeds 4,000 men and their families

32 Then Jesus told his disciples to come to him. ‘I feel sorry for this crowd,’ he said to them. ‘They have been here with me now for three days. They do not have any food. I do not want to send them away while they are hungry. They might fall down during their journey because they are weak.’

33 The disciples said to Jesus, ‘This place is a long way from any houses. We cannot get enough bread here to feed so many people.’

34 Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves of bread do you have?’

They replied, ‘We have seven loaves and a few small fish.’

35 Jesus told the crowd that they should sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish in his hands and he thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and the fish into pieces and he gave the food to his disciples. The disciples gave the food to the people. 37 All the people ate and they all had enough food. After the people had eaten, there were still lots of small pieces of food. Jesus' disciples filled seven baskets with these pieces. 38 There were 4,000 men who ate the bread and fish. There were also women and children who ate. 39 Then Jesus sent the crowd of people away. After that, he got into the boat and sailed to the part of the country near Magadan.[a]

Footnotes

  1. 15:39 Magadan is also called Magdala. This was the home of Mary from Magdala.