Matthew, 15

1. Then Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus and said,

1. Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

2. 'Why do your disciples break away from the tradition of the elders? They eat without washing their hands.'

2. "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."

3. He answered, 'And why do you break away from the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

3. He answered them, "And why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

4. For God said, "Honour your father and your mother" and "Anyone who curses his father or mother will be put to death."

4. For God commanded, `Honor your father and your mother,' and, `He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die.'

5. But you say, "If anyone says to his father or mother: Anything I might have used to help you is dedicated to God,

5. But you say, `If any one tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is given to God, he need not honor his father.'

6. he is rid of his duty to father or mother." In this way you have made God's word ineffective by means of your tradition.

6. So, for the sake of your tradition, you have made void the word of God.

7. Hypocrites! How rightly Isaiah prophesied about you when he said:

7. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8. This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me.

8. `This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

9. Their reverence of me is worthless; the lessons they teach are nothing but human commandments.'

9. in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'"

10. He called the people to him and said, 'Listen, and understand.

10. And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand:

11. What goes into the mouth does not make anyone unclean; it is what comes out of the mouth that makes someone unclean.'

11. not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

12. Then the disciples came to him and said, 'Do you know that the Pharisees were shocked when they heard what you said?'

12. Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"

13. He replied, 'Any plant my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.

13. He answered, "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.

14. Leave them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind; and if one blind person leads another, both will fall into a pit.'

14. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

15. At this, Peter said to him, 'Explain the parable for us.'

15. But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us."

16. Jesus replied, 'Even you -- don't you yet understand?

16. And he said, "Are you also still without understanding?

17. Can't you see that whatever goes into the mouth passes through the stomach and is discharged into the sewer?

17. Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on?

18. But whatever comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and it is this that makes someone unclean.

18. But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man.

19. For from the heart come evil intentions: murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander.

19. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.

20. These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands does not make anyone unclean.'

20. These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

21. Jesus left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

21. And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

22. And suddenly out came a Canaanite woman from that district and started shouting, 'Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My daughter is tormented by a devil.'

22. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and cried, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon."

23. But he said not a word in answer to her. And his disciples went and pleaded with him, saying, 'Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us.'

23. But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after us."

24. He said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.'

24. He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

25. But the woman had come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.'

25. But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."

26. He replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.'

26. And he answered, "It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

27. She retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters' table.'

27. She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

28. Then Jesus answered her, 'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment her daughter was well again.

28. Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.

29. Jesus went on from there and reached the shores of the Lake of Galilee, and he went up onto the mountain. He took his seat,

29. And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain, and sat down there.

30. and large crowds came to him bringing the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others; these they put down at his feet, and he cured them.

30. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them,

31. The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of Israel.

31. so that the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

32. But Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 'I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them off hungry, or they might collapse on the way.'

32. Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

33. The disciples said to him, 'Where in a deserted place could we get sufficient bread for such a large crowd to have enough to eat?'

33. And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?"

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

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

35. Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground,

35. And commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground,

36. and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks he broke them and began handing them to the disciples, who gave them to the crowds.

36. he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

37. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected what was left of the scraps, seven baskets full.

37. And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

38. Now four thousand men had eaten, to say nothing of women and children.

38. Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39. And when he had sent the crowds away he got into the boat and went to the territory of Magadan.

39. And sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Mag'adan.