Matthew 15

¹ Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,

² “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”

³ He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?

⁴ For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’

⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,”

⁶ he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.

⁷ You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

⁸ ‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

⁹ And they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’”

¹⁰ He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand.

¹¹ That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which 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 offended when they heard this saying?”

¹³ But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.

¹⁴ Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵ Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”

¹⁶ So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand?

¹⁷ Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body?

¹⁸ But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.

¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.

²⁰ These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”

²¹ Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.

²² Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”

²³ But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”

²⁴ But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵ But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

²⁶ But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷ But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

²⁹ Jesus departed from there and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up on the mountain and sat there.

³⁰ Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them,

³¹ so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.

³² Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”

³³ The disciples said to him, “Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

³⁵ He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;

³⁶ and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.

³⁷ They all ate and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.

³⁸ Those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children.

³⁹ Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.