Matthew 15
The Voice
15 Some Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to ask Jesus a question.
Scribes and Pharisees: 2 The law of Moses has always held that one must ritually wash his hands before eating. Why don’t Your disciples observe this tradition?
3 Jesus turned the Pharisees’ question back on them.
Jesus: Why do you violate God’s command because of your tradition? 4 God said, “Honor your father and mother.[a] Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.”[b] 5-6 But you say that one need no longer honor his parents so long as he says to them, “What you might have gained from me, I now give to the glory of God.” Haven’t you let your tradition trump the word of God? 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah must have had you in mind when he prophesied,
8 People honor Me with their lips,
but their hearts are nowhere near Me.
9 Because they elevate mere human ritual to the status of law,
their worship of Me is a meaningless sham.[c]
10 (to the multitude) Hear and understand this: 11 What you put into your mouth cannot make you clean or unclean; it is what comes out of your mouth that can make you unclean.
12 Later the disciples came to Him.
Disciples: Do You realize the Pharisees were shocked by what You said?
Jesus: 13 Every plant planted by someone other than My heavenly Father will be plucked up by the roots. 14 So let them be. They are blind guides. What happens when one blind person leads another? Both of them fall into a ditch.
Peter: 15 Explain that riddle to us.
Jesus: 16 Do you still not see? 17 Don’t you understand that whatever you take in through your mouth makes its way to your stomach and eventually out of the bowels of your body? 18 But the things that come out of your mouth—your curses, your fears, your denunciations—these come from your heart, and it is the stirrings of your heart that can make you unclean. 19 For your heart harbors evil thoughts—fantasies of murder, adultery, and whoring; fantasies of stealing, lying, and slandering. 20 These make you unclean—not eating with a hand you’ve not ritually purified with a splash of water and a prayer.
21 Jesus left that place and withdrew to Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman—a non-Jew—came to Him.
Canaanite Woman (wailing): Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is possessed by a demon. Have mercy, Lord!
23 Jesus said nothing. And the woman continued to wail. His disciples came to Him.
Disciples: Do something—she keeps crying after us!
Jesus: 24 I was sent here only to gather up the lost sheep of Israel.
25 The woman came up to Jesus and knelt before Him.
Canaanite Woman: Lord, help me!
Jesus: 26 It is not right to waste the children’s bread by feeding dogs.
Canaanite Woman: 27 But, Lord, even dogs eat the crumbs that fall by the table as their master is eating.
28 Jesus—whose ancestors included Ruth and Rahab—spoke with kindness and insight.
Jesus: Woman, you have great faith. And your request is done.
And her daughter was healed, right then and from then on.
29 Jesus left and went to the Sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountaintop and sat down. 30 Crowds thronged to Him there, bringing the lame, the maimed, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many other sick and broken people. They laid them at His feet, and He healed them. 31 The people saw the mute speaking, the lame walking, the maimed made whole, the crippled dancing, and the blind seeing; and the people were amazed, and they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus (to His disciples): 32 We must take pity on these people for they have touched My heart; they have been with Me for three days, and they don’t have any food. I don’t want to send them home this hungry—they might collapse on the way!
Disciples: 33 We’ll never find enough food for all these people, out here in the middle of nowhere!
Jesus: 34 How much bread do you have?
Disciples: Seven rounds of flatbread and a few small fish.
35 He told the crowd to sit down. 36 He took the bread and the fish, He gave thanks, and then He broke the bread and divided the fish. He gave the bread and fish to the disciples, the disciples distributed them to the people, 37 and everyone ate and was satisfied. When everyone had eaten, the disciples picked up seven baskets of crusts and broken pieces and crumbs.
38 There were 4,000 men there, not to mention all the women and children. 39 Then Jesus sent the crowd away. He got into the boat and went to Magadan.
Matthew 15
Expanded Bible
Obey God’s Law(A)
15 Then some Pharisees and ·teachers of the law [scribes] came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2 “Why don’t your ·followers [disciples] obey the ·unwritten laws which have been handed down to us [L traditions of the elders]? [L For] They don’t wash their hands before they eat [C a Jewish ritual for ceremonial purity].”
3 Jesus answered, “And why do you ·refuse to obey [break; violate] God’s command ·so that you can follow your own teachings [L for the sake of your traditions]? 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16],’ and ‘Anyone who ·says cruel things to [speaks evil of; curses] his father or mother must be put to death [Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9].’ 5 But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I have ·given [dedicated; devoted] it to God already [C a practice known as Corban; see Mark 7:10–12].’ 6 You teach that person ·not to [that he need not] honor his father or his mother. You ·rejected [invalidated; canceled; nullified] ·what God said [L the word of God] for the sake of your own ·rules [tradition]. 7 You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he ·said [L prophesied] about you:
8 ‘These people show honor to me with ·words [L their lips],
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is ·worthless [futile; in vain].
The things [doctrines] they teach are nothing but human ·rules [commandments; Is. 29:13].’”
10 After Jesus called the crowd to him, he said, “Listen and ·understand what I am saying [try to understand]. 11 It is not what ·people put into their mouths [L goes into the mouth] that ·makes them unclean [pollutes/defiles the person]. It is what comes out of their mouths that ·makes them unclean [pollutes/defiles the person].”
12 Then his ·followers [disciples] came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees are ·angry [offended; shocked] because of what you said?”
13 Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted himself will be pulled up by the roots. 14 ·Stay away from the Pharisees [L Leave/Ignore them]; they are blind ·leaders [guides].[a] And if a blind person ·leads [guides] a blind person, both will fall into a ·ditch [pit; hole].”
15 Peter said, “Explain the ·example [parable] to us.”
16 Jesus said, “·Do you still not understand [L Are you still so dull/foolish]? 17 ·Surely you know [L Don’t you know…?] that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then goes ·out of the body [L into the sewer/latrine].” 18 But ·what people say with their mouths [L the things that come out of the mouth] comes from the ·way they think [L the heart]; these are the things that ·make people unclean [pollute/defiled a person]. 19 [L For] Out of the ·mind [heart] come evil ·thoughts [intentions; ideas], murder, adultery, sexual sins, stealing, ·lying [false witness/testimony], and ·speaking evil of others [slander; blasphemy]. 20 These things make people ·unclean [polluted; defiled]; eating with unwashed hands does not make them ·unclean [polluted; defiled].”
Jesus Helps a Gentile Woman(B)
21 Jesus left that place and went to the ·area [district; region] of Tyre and Sidon [C cities on the coast north of Israel]. 22 A ·Canaanite [C a non-Jewish (Gentile) resident of Palestine (Canaan was the ancient name for Palestine)] woman from that area came to Jesus and cried out, “Lord, Son of David [C a title for the Messiah], have mercy on me! My daughter ·has a demon, and she is suffering very much [is tormented; L is severely demon-possessed].”
23 But Jesus did not ·answer the woman [L answer her a word]. So his ·followers [disciples] came to Jesus and ·begged [asked; urged] him, “Tell the woman to go away. [L Because] She is following us and ·shouting [crying out].”
24 Jesus answered, “·God sent me [L I was sent] only to the lost sheep, the ·people [L house] of Israel.”
25 Then the woman came to Jesus again and bowed before him and said, “Lord, help me!”
26 Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ·give [throw] it to the dogs.” [C “Children” refers to Israel; “dogs” to the Gentiles.]
27 The woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered, “[L O] Woman, you have great faith! ·I will do what you asked [L Let it be done for you as you wish].” And ·at that moment [L from that hour] the woman’s daughter was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People(C)
29 After leaving there, Jesus went along ·the shore of Lake Galilee [T the Sea of Galilee]. He went up on ·a hill [or the mountain] and sat there.
30 Great crowds came to Jesus, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, ·those who could not speak [the mute/deaf; C the word can refer to speech or hearing; v. 31 suggests it here means “mute”], and many others. They ·put [laid] them at Jesus’ feet, and he healed them. 31 The crowd was ·amazed [astonished; marveled] when they saw that ·people who could not speak before [the mute/deaf] were now able to speak. The crippled were ·made strong [well; whole]. The lame could walk, and the blind could see. And they ·praised [glorified] the God of Israel for this.
More than Four Thousand Fed(D)
32 Jesus called his ·followers [disciples] to him and said, “I ·feel sorry [have compassion] for these people, because they have already been with me three days, and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might ·faint [collapse] while going home.”
33 His ·followers [disciples] asked him, “·How [L From where] can we get enough bread in this ·remote place [desolate place; desert] to feed ·all these people [L so great a crowd]?”
34 Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
35 Jesus told the people to ·sit [recline] on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks to God. Then he ·divided the food [L broke them] and gave it to his ·followers [disciples], and they gave it to the people. 37 All the people ate and were satisfied. Then his ·followers [disciples] filled seven ·baskets [large baskets; C a different word than in the feeding of the five thousand; 14:20] with the leftover pieces of food. 38 There were about four thousand men there who ate, besides women and children. 39 After ·sending the people home [dismissing the crowds], Jesus got into the boat and went to the ·area [region] of Magadan [C an unknown place, probably on the western shore of Lake Galilee; perhaps Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene].
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:14 leaders Some Greek copies continue, “of blind people.”
Matthew 15
King James Version
15 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15 Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
21 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
30 And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
31 Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33 And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
39 And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.
Matthew 15
Lexham English Bible
Human Traditions and God’s Commandments
15 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.”[a] 3 So he answered and[b] said to them, “Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your[c] father and your[d] mother,’[e] and ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die[f].’[g] 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his[h] father or his[i] mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received[j] from me is a gift to God,” 6 need not honor his father,’[k] and you make void the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah correctly prophesied about you saying,
8 ‘This people honors me with their[l] lips,
but their heart is far, far away from me,
9 and they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”[m]
Defilement from Within
10 And summoning the crowd, he said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 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[n] said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they[o] heard this saying?” 13 And he answered and[p] said, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Let[q] them! They are blind guides of the blind. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter answered and[r] said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 But he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not understand that everything that enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and is evacuated into the latrine? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile the person. 19 For from the heart come evil plans, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, abusive speech. 20 These are the things that defile a person. But eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person!”
A Canaanite Woman’s Great Faith
21 And departing from there, Jesus went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that district came and cried out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came up and[s] asked him, saying, “Send her away, because she is crying out after us!” 24 But he answered and[t] said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and[u] knelt down before him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And he answered and[v] said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it[w] to the dogs!” 27 So she said, “Yes, Lord, for even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you want.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Many Others Healed in Galilee
29 And departing from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up on the mountain and[x] was sitting there. 30 And large crowds came to him, having with them the mute, blind, lame, crippled,[y] and many others, and they put them down at his feet, and he healed them. 31 So then the crowd was astonished when they[z] saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.
The Feeding of Four Thousand
32 And Jesus summoned his disciples and[aa] said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry lest they give out on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where in this desolate place can we get[ab] so much bread that such a great crowd could be satisfied?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” So they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.” 35 And commanding the crowd to recline for a meal on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish and after he[ac] had given thanks, he broke them[ad] and began giving[ae] them[af] to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full. 38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children. 39 And after he[ag] sent away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:2 Literally “bread”
- Matthew 15:3 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:4 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:4 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:4 A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16
- Matthew 15:4 Literally “let him die the death”
- Matthew 15:4 A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9
- Matthew 15:5 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:5 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:5 Literally “you would have been benefited”
- Matthew 15:6 Most later manuscripts add “or his mother”
- Matthew 15:8 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 15:9 A quotation from Isa 29:13
- Matthew 15:12 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:12 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 15:13 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:14 Or “Depart from”
- Matthew 15:15 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:23 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:24 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:25 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:26 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:26 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 15:29 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went up”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:30 Some manuscripts have “the lame, blind, crippled, mute”
- Matthew 15:31 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 15:32 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 15:33 Literally “for us”
- Matthew 15:36 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 15:36 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 15:36 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began giving”)
- Matthew 15:36 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 15:39 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal
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