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Matthew 15
New Living Translation
Matthew 15
New Living Translation
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
15 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6 In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.[c] And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[d]”
10 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
13 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17 “Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18 But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
21 Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Gentile[e] woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
23 But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
24 Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
25 But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”
26 Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
27 She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”
28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30 A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. 31 The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32 Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”
33 The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”
34 Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”
35 So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
37 They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 38 There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. 39 Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
Footnotes
- 15:4a Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.
- 15:4b Exod 21:17 (Greek version); Lev 20:9 (Greek version).
- 15:6 Greek their father; other manuscripts read their father or their mother.
- 15:8-9 Isa 29:13 (Greek version).
- 15:22 Greek Canaanite.
Matthew 15
EasyEnglish Bible
Matthew 15
EasyEnglish Bible
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. 2 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?’
3 Jesus replied, ‘God tells us the right way to obey him. But you refuse. Instead, you like to keep your own ideas. 4 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.” 5 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.” 6 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. 7 You are hypocrites! What God's prophet Isaiah wrote about you long ago is true:
8 God says, “These people say good things about me,
but they do not really want to obey me.
9 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
- 15:39 Magadan is also called Magdala. This was the home of Mary from Magdala.
Matthew 15
New International Version
Matthew 15
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)
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 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) 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 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
- 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
New Living Translation (NLT)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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