Matthew 15:10-16:12

English Standard Version

What Defiles a Person

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

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

²¹^(Q)And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²And behold, ^(R)a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ^(S)“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^(T)“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴He answered, ^(U)“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and ^(V)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and ^(W)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ^(X)the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^(Y)great is your faith! ^(Z)Be it done for you as you desire.” ^(AA)And her daughter was ^(AB)healed instantly.^[c]

Jesus Heals Many

²⁹^(AC)Jesus went on from there and walked ^(AD)beside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^(AE)went up on the mountain and sat down there. ³⁰And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^(AF)the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, ³¹^(AG)so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^(AH)the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^(AI)they glorified ^(AJ)the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

³²^(AK)Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^(AL)“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.” ³³And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” ³⁴And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^(AM)“Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^(AN)having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷And ^(AO)they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ³⁸Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^(AP)Magadan.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16 ^(AQ)And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^(AR)to test him ^(AS)they asked him to show them ^(AT)a sign from heaven. ²He answered them,^[d] ^(AU)“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^(AV)You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^(AW)the signs of the times. ⁴^(AX)An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ^(AY)he left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^(AZ)beware of ^(BA)the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸But ^(BB)Jesus, aware of this, said, ^(BC)“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ⁹^(BD)Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^(BE)the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰Or ^(BF)the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^(BG)Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ¹²^(BH)Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^(BI)the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.