Matthew 15
English Standard Version
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:
8 (K)“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 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
- Matthew 15:5 Or is an offering
- Matthew 15:6 Some manuscripts law
- Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts add of the blind
- Matthew 15:17 Greek is expelled into the latrine
- Matthew 15:28 Greek from that hour
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.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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
