Matthew 15
Legacy Standard Bible
God’s Commandments, Man’s Traditions
15 (A)Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus (B)from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they (C)do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘(D)Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘(E)He who speaks evil of father or mother is to [a]be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever you might benefit from me [b]is given to God,” 6 he need not [c]honor his father.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
8 ‘(F)This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
9 But in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as (G)doctrines the commands of men.’”
10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. 11 (H)It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
12 Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were [d]offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, “(I)Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. 14 Let them alone; (J)they are blind guides [e]of the blind. And (K)if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
The Heart of Man
15 Now Peter answered and said to Him, “(L)Explain the parable to us.” 16 And [f]Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and goes into the sewer? 18 But (M)the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 (N)For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
The Canaanite Woman
21 (O)And going away from there, Jesus withdrew into the district of (P)Tyre and (Q)Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, (R)Son of David; my daughter is cruelly (S)demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and were pleading with Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting [g]at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to (T)the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and [h](U)was bowing down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And He answered and said, “It is not [i]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; [j]but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, (V)your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed [k]at once.
Jesus Heals the Crowds
29 (W)And departing from there, Jesus went along by (X)the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. 30 And [l]large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and (Y)He healed them. 31 So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled [m]restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they (Z)glorified the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32 (AA)And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “(AB)I feel compassion for the crowd, because they [n]have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples *said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” 34 And Jesus *said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And He directed the crowd to [o]sit down on the ground; 36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and (AC)giving thanks, He broke them and kept giving them 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 large (AD)baskets full. 38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
39 And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into (AE)the boat and came to the region of (AF)Magadan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:4 Lit die the death
- Matthew 15:5 An offering; lit a gift
- Matthew 15:6 By supporting them with it
- Matthew 15:12 Lit caused to stumble
- Matthew 15:14 Some mss omit of the blind
- Matthew 15:16 Lit He
- Matthew 15:23 Lit behind us
- Matthew 15:25 Or worshiped
- Matthew 15:26 Or proper
- Matthew 15:27 Lit for
- Matthew 15:28 Lit from that hour
- Matthew 15:30 Lit many
- Matthew 15:31 Or healthy
- Matthew 15:32 Lit are remaining
- Matthew 15:35 Lit recline
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.
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The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.