Matthew 15
Revised Geneva Translation
15 Then the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,
2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
3 But He answered and said to them, “And why do you transgress the Commandment of God by your tradition?
4 “For God has commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and mother. And the one who curses father or mother, let him die the death.’
5 “But you say, ‘Whoever shall say to father or mother, “By the gift that is offered by me,” you may have profit;
6 though he does not honor his father or his mother. Thus, by your tradition, you have made the Commandment of God of no authority.
7 “O hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied well of you, saying,
8 “‘This people draws near to Me with their mouth, and honors Me with the lips, but their heart is far away from Me.
9 ‘But they worship Me in vain, teaching men’s precepts as doctrines.’”
10 Then He called the multitude to Him, and said to them, “Hear, and understand.
11 “That which goes into the mouth, does not defile the man. But that which comes out of the mouth, defiles the man.”
12 Then His disciples came, and said to Him, “Are you not aware that the Pharisees, having heard this saying, are offended?”
13 But He answered and said, “Every plant which My Heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up.
14 “Let them be. They are the blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.”
15 Then Peter answered, and said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 Then Jesus said, “Are you still without understanding?
17 “Do you not understand that whatever enters into the mouth, goes into the belly, and is cast out into the drain?
18 “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man.
19 “For out of the heart comes evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, slanders.
20 “These are the things which defile the man. But to eat with unwashed hands, does not defile the man.”
21 And Jesus left there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a Gentile woman came out of the same region, and cried, saying to Him, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, the Son of David! My daughter is badly possessed by a demon!”
23 But He did not answer her a word. Then His disciples came to Him and urged Him, saying, “Send her away. For she cries after us.”
24 But He answered, and said, “I am not sent, but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.”
25 Still, she came and worshipped Him, saying, “Lord help me.”
26 And He answered, and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.”
27 But she said, “Truth, Lord. Yet, even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus answered, and said to her, “O, woman. Great is your faith. Let it be as you desire.” And her daughter was made whole at that hour.
29 So Jesus went away from there, and came near to the Sea of Galilee, and went up in a mountain and sat down there.
30 And great multitudes came to Him - having with them lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others - and cast them down at Jesus’ feet. And He healed them.
31 So much so that the multitude wondered to see the dumb speak, the maimed whole, the lame walk, and the blind see. And they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I have compassion on this multitude because they have remained with Me three days now and have had nothing to eat. And I will not let them depart fasting, lest they faint on the way.”
33 And His disciples said to Him, “From where would we get so much bread in the wilderness that would suffice so great a multitude?”
34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”
35 Then He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And took the seven loaves, and the fish, and gave thanks; and broke them, and gave them to His disciples. And the disciples gave them to the multitude.
37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the fragments that remained.
38 And those who had eaten (besides women and little children) were four thousand men.
39 Then Jesus sent away the multitude. And He took a ship and came into the region of Magdala.
Matthew 15
Living Bible
15 Some Pharisees and other Jewish leaders now arrived from Jerusalem to interview Jesus.
2 “Why do your disciples disobey the ancient Jewish traditions?” they demanded. “For they ignore our ritual of ceremonial handwashing before they eat.” 3 He replied, “And why do your traditions violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God’s law is ‘Honor your father and mother; anyone who reviles his parents must die.’ 5-6 But you say, ‘Even if your parents are in need, you may give their support money to the church[a] instead.’ And so, by your man-made rule, you nullify the direct command of God to honor and care for your parents. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, 8 ‘These people say they honor me, but their hearts are far away. 9 Their worship is worthless, for they teach their man-made laws instead of those from God.’[b]”
10 Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, “Listen to what I say and try to understand: 11
12 Then the disciples came and told him, “You offended the Pharisees by that remark.”
13-14 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my Father shall be rooted up, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and both will fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter asked Jesus to explain what he meant when he said that people are not defiled by nonkosher food.
16 “Don’t you understand?” Jesus asked him. 17 “Don’t you see that anything you eat passes through the digestive tract and out again? 18 But evil words come from an evil heart and defile the man who says them. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile; but there is no spiritual defilement from eating without first going through the ritual of ceremonial handwashing!”
21 Jesus then left that part of the country and walked the fifty miles to Tyre and Sidon.[d]
22 A woman from Canaan who was living there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, King David’s Son! For my daughter has a demon within her, and it torments her constantly.”
23 But Jesus gave her no reply—not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to get going,” they said, “for she is bothering us with all her begging.”
24 Then he said to the woman, “I was sent to help the Jews—the lost sheep of Israel—not the Gentiles.”
25 But she came and worshiped him and pled again, “Sir, help me!”
26 “It doesn’t seem right to take bread from the children and throw it to the dogs,” he said.
27 “Yes, it is!” she replied, “for even the puppies beneath the table are permitted to eat the crumbs that fall.”
28 “Woman,” Jesus told her, “your faith is large, and your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed right then.
29 Jesus now returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat there. 30 And a vast crowd brought him their lame, blind, maimed, and those who couldn’t speak, and many others, and laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. 31 What a spectacle it was! Those who hadn’t been able to say a word before were talking excitedly, and those with missing arms and legs had new ones; the crippled were walking and jumping around, and those who had been blind were gazing about them! The crowds just marveled and praised the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I pity these people—they’ve been here with me for three days now and have nothing left to eat; I don’t want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the road.”
33 The disciples replied, “And where would we get enough here in the desert for all this mob to eat?”
34 Jesus asked them, “How much food do you have?” And they replied, “Seven loaves of bread and a few small fish!”
35 Then Jesus told all of the people to sit down on the ground, 36 and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks to God for them, and divided them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples who presented them to the crowd. 37-38 And everyone ate until full—four thousand men besides the women and children! And afterwards, when the scraps were picked up, there were seven basketfuls left over!
39 Then Jesus sent the people home and got into the boat and crossed to Magadan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:5 to the church, literally, “to God.”
- Matthew 15:9 those from God, see Isaiah 29:13.
- Matthew 15:11 It is what you say and think that makes you unclean, implied; literally, “What comes out of a man defiles a man.”
- Matthew 15:21 walked the fifty miles, implied; literally, “withdrew into the parts of Tyre and Sidon.”
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