Traditions and Commandments

15 ^(A)Then Pharisees and ^(B)scribes came to Jesus ^(C)from Jerusalem and said, ^2 (D)“Why do your disciples break ^(E)the tradition of the elders? ^(F)For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” ³ He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴ For God commanded, ^(G)‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^(H)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”^{[a] 6} he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^(I)made void the word^[b] of God. ^7 (J)You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

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)Be it 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.

You Must Be Born Again

3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named ^(A)Nicodemus, ^(B)a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus^{[a] (C)}by night and said to him, ^(D)“Rabbi, ^(E)we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do ^(F)unless God is with him.” ³ Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is ^(G)born ^(H)again^[b] he cannot ^(I)see the kingdom of God.” ⁴ Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” ⁵ Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born ^(J)of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ^6 (K)That which is born of the flesh is ^(L)flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.^{[c] 7 (M)}Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You^[d] must be born ^(N)again.’ ^8 (O)The wind^[e] blows ^(P)where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹ Nicodemus said to him, ^(Q)“How can these things be?” ¹⁰ Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel ^(R)and yet you do not understand these things? ¹¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, ^(S)we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but ^(T)you^[f] do not receive our testimony. ¹² If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ^13 (U)No one has ^(V)ascended into heaven except ^(W)he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.^{[g] 14} And ^(X)as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man ^(Y)be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes ^(Z)in him ^(AA)may have eternal life.^[h]

For God So Loved the World

¹⁶ “For ^(AB)God so loved ^(AC)the world,^{[i] (AD)}that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not ^(AE)perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For ^(AF)God did not send his Son into the world ^(AG)to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ^18 (AH)Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not ^(AI)believed in the name of the only Son of God. ^19 (AJ)And this is the judgment: ^(AK)the light has come into the world, and ^(AL)people loved the darkness rather than the light because ^(AM)their works were evil. ^20 (AN)For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, ^(AO)lest his works should be exposed. ²¹ But whoever ^(AP)does what is true ^(AQ)comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

²² After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and ^(AR)was baptizing. ²³ John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized ²⁴ (for ^(AS)John had not yet been put in prison).

²⁵ Now a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over ^(AT)purification. ²⁶ And they came to John and said to him, ^(AU)“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, ^(AV)to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and ^(AW)all are going to him.” ²⁷ John answered, ^(AX)“A person cannot receive even one thing ^(AY)unless it is given him ^(AZ)from heaven. ²⁸ You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ^(BA)‘I am not the Christ, but ^(BB)I have been sent before him.’ ^29 (BC)The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. ^(BD)The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, ^(BE)rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. ^30 (BF)He must increase, but I must decrease.”^[j]

^31 (BG)He who comes from above ^(BH)is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and ^(BI)speaks in an earthly way. ^(BJ)He who comes from heaven ^(BK)is above all. ^32 (BL)He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, ^(BM)yet no one receives his testimony. ³³ Whoever receives his testimony ^(BN)sets his seal to this, ^(BO)that God is true. ³⁴ For he whom ^(BP)God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit ^(BQ)without measure. ^35 (BR)The Father loves the Son and ^(BS)has given all things into his hand. ^36 (BT)Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; ^(BU)whoever does not obey the Son shall not ^(BV)see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.