Mat 15 | NASB1995 | STEP | Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said ,

‏ Matthew 15

Tradition and Commandment

1 ^aThen some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus ^bfrom Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they ^cdo 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 ^{▼▼ Lit die the death} be put to death.’ 5 “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been ^{▼▼ Lit a gift; i.e. an offering}given to God,” 6 he is not to honor his father or his mother ^{▼▼ I.e. by supporting them with it}.’ 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 ‘ ⁱ 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 ^j doctrines the precepts of men.’”

10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. 11 ^k“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 ^{▼▼ Lit caused to stumble}offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, ^m“Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. 14 “Let them alone; ⁿthey are blind guides ^{▼▼ Later mss add of the blind}of the blind. And ^pif a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

The Heart of Man

15 Peter ^{▼▼ Lit answered and said}said to Him, ^r“Explain the parable to us.” 16 ^{▼▼ Lit and He}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 is ^{▼▼ Lit thrown out into the latrine}eliminated? 18 “But ^uthe things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 ^v“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, ^{▼▼ I.e. sexual immorality}fornications, 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 Syrophoenician Woman

21 ^xJesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of ^yTyre and ^zSidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, ^aaSon of David; my daughter is cruelly ^abdemon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting ^{▼▼ Lit behind us}at us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to ^adthe lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and ^ae began ^{▼▼ Or worshiped}to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 And He answered and said, “It is not ^{▼▼ Or proper}good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord; ^{▼▼ Lit for}but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, ^aiyour faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed ^{▼▼ Lit from that hour}at once.

Healing Crowds

29 ^akDeparting from there, Jesus went along by ^althe Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. 30 And ^{▼▼ Lit many}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 ^anHe healed them. 31 So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled ^{▼▼ Or healthy}restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they ^apglorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Fed

32 ^aqAnd Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, ^ar“I feel compassion for the ^{▼▼ Lit crowd}people, because they ^{▼▼ Lit are remaining}have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” 33 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 ^{▼▼ Lit crowd}people to ^{▼▼ Lit recline}sit down on the ground; 36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and ^awgiving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large ^axbaskets full. 38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39 And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into ^aythe boat and came to the region of ^azMagadan.