Matthew 15:1-20

New International Version

That Which Defiles^(A)

15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, ²“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”^(B)

³Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For 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) ⁵But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ ⁶they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:

⁸“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
⁹They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.^(E)’^[c]^(F)”

¹⁰Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. ¹¹What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them,^(G) but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”^(H)

¹²Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹³He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted^(I) will be pulled up by the roots. ¹⁴Leave them; they are blind guides.^[d]^(J) If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”^(K)

¹⁵Peter 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? ¹⁸But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart,^(N) and these defile them. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.^(O) ²⁰These are what defile a person;^(P) but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

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Footnotes

Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13
Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind

Psalm 35:11-28

New International Version

¹¹Ruthless witnesses^(A) come forward;
    they question me on things I know nothing about.
¹²They repay me evil for good^(B)
    and leave me like one bereaved.
¹³Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth^(C)
    and humbled myself with fasting.^(D)
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
¹⁴    I went about mourning^(E)
    as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
    as though weeping for my mother.
¹⁵But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;^(F)
    assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
    They slandered^(G) me without ceasing.
¹⁶Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;^[a]^(H)
    they gnashed their teeth^(I) at me.

¹⁷How long,^(J) Lord, will you look on?
    Rescue me from their ravages,
    my precious life^(K) from these lions.^(L)
¹⁸I will give you thanks in the great assembly;^(M)
    among the throngs^(N) I will praise you.^(O)
¹⁹Do not let those gloat over me
    who are my enemies^(P) without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason^(Q)
    maliciously wink the eye.^(R)
²⁰They do not speak peaceably,
    but devise false accusations^(S)
    against those who live quietly in the land.
²¹They sneer^(T) at me and say, “Aha! Aha!^(U)
    With our own eyes we have seen it.”

²²Lord, you have seen^(V) this; do not be silent.
    Do not be far^(W) from me, Lord.
²³Awake,^(X) and rise^(Y) to my defense!
    Contend^(Z) for me, my God and Lord.
²⁴Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God;
    do not let them gloat^(AA) over me.
²⁵Do not let them think, “Aha,^(AB) just what we wanted!”
    or say, “We have swallowed him up.”^(AC)

²⁶May all who gloat^(AD) over my distress^(AE)
    be put to shame^(AF) and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me^(AG)
    be clothed with shame and disgrace.
²⁷May those who delight in my vindication^(AH)
    shout for joy^(AI) and gladness;
may they always say, “The Lord be exalted,
    who delights^(AJ) in the well-being of his servant.”^(AK)