Matthew 15

Modern

Literal

The Tradition of the Elders

¹Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,

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

²“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

²“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they shall eat bread.”

³Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

³And answering, He said to them, “Why also do you transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

⁴For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’^a and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’^b

⁴For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘The one speaking evil of father or mother, in death let him end.’

⁵But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’

⁵But you say, ‘Whoever might say to father or mother: Whatever you might be profited by me is a gift,’

⁶he need not honor his father or mother with it.^a Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

⁶he shall not honor his father or his mother. And you made void the word of God because of your tradition.

⁷You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:

⁷Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you, saying:

⁸‘These people honor Me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from Me.

⁸‘This people honors Me with the lips, but their heart is kept far away from Me;

⁹They worship Me in vain;

they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”^a

⁹and in vain they worship Me, teaching as teachings the precepts of men.’”

What Defiles a Man

¹⁰Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.

¹⁰And having summoned the crowd, He said to them, “Hear and understand.

¹¹A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

¹¹Not what is entering into the mouth defiles the man; but what is proceeding out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

¹²Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

¹²Then the disciples, having come, said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees, having heard the saying, were offended?”

¹³But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.

¹³And answering, He said, “Every plant that My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.

¹⁴Disregard them! They are blind guides.^a If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁴Leave them! They are blind guides of the blind. And if the blind may guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

¹⁵And answering, Peter said to Him, “Explain to us this parable.”

¹⁶“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.

¹⁶And He said, “Are you also still without understanding?

¹⁷“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?

¹⁷Do you not perceive that everything entering into the mouth goes into the belly and is cast out into the sewer?

¹⁸But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.

¹⁸But the things proceeding out of the mouth come forth out of the heart, and these defile the man.

¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

¹⁹For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, false testimonies, slanders.

²⁰These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

²⁰These are the things defiling the man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

²¹Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

²¹And having gone out from there, Jesus withdrew to the parts of Tyre and Sidon.

²²And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

²²And behold, a Canaanite woman from those borders, having come out, was crying out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

²³But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²³But He did not answer her a word. And having come, His disciples were imploring Him, saying, “Dismiss her, because she cries out after us.”

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

²⁴And answering, He said, “I was not sent, except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁵And having come, she was worshiping Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

²⁶But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁶And answering, He said, “It is not good to take the bread of the children and to cast it to the dogs.”

²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs^a eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁷And she said, “Yes, Lord, for even the dogs eat from the crumbs falling from the table of their masters.”

²⁸“O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

²⁸“Then answering, Jesus said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

²⁹Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.

²⁹And having departed from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. And having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.

³⁰Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.

³⁰And many crowds came to Him, having with them the lame, the crippled, the blind, the mute, and many others. And they cast them at His feet, and He healed them,

³¹The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

³¹so that the crowd marveled, seeing the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

³²Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”

³²And Jesus, having summoned His disciples, said, “I have compassion toward the crowd, because already three days they continue with Me, and they have nothing that they might eat. And I do not want to dismiss them hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

³³The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”

³³And the disciples say to Him, “From where unto us in a secluded place are so many loaves so as to satisfy so great a crowd?”

³⁴“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

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

³⁵And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.

³⁵And having commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground,

³⁶Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

³⁶He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks, He broke them and was giving them to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.

³⁷They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

³⁷And they all ate and were satisfied, and they took up the superabounding of the fragments, seven baskets full.

³⁸A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children.

³⁸And those eating were four thousand men, apart from women and children.

³⁹After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

³⁹And having dismissed the crowds, He entered into the boat and went to the borders of Magadan.