Matthew 15
15
Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity
1Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, 2“Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”
3Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’#15:4a Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16. and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’#15:4b Exod 21:17 (Greek version); Lev 20:9 (Greek version). 5But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ 6In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.#15:6 Greek their father; other manuscripts read their father or their mother. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. 7You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,
8 ‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship is a farce,
for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’ # 15:8-9 Isa 29:13 (Greek version). ”
10Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 11It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”
12Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”
13Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, 14so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”
15Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”
16 “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked. 17“Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. 18But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. 19For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. 20These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”
The Faith of a Gentile Woman
21Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22A Gentile#15:22 Greek Canaanite. woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”
23But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”
24Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
25But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”
26Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”
27She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”
28 “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. 31The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
32Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”
33The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”
34Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”
They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”
35So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.
37They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. 38There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. 39Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.
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Matthew 15: NLT
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Matthew 15
15
Human Traditions and God’s Commandments
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.”#Literally “bread” 3So he answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said to them, “Why do you also break the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4For God said, ‘Honor your#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun father and your#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun mother,’#A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16 and ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die#Literally “let him die the death”.’#A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9 5But you say, ‘Whoever says to his#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun father or his#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received#Literally “you would have been benefited” from me is a gift to God,” 6need not honor his father,’#Most later manuscripts add “or his mother” and you make void the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7Hypocrites! Isaiah correctly prophesied about you saying,
8‘This people honors me with their#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun lips,
but their heart is far, far away from me,
9and they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”#A quotation from Isa 29:13
Defilement from Within
10And summoning the crowd, he said to them, “Hear and understand: 11It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person.” 12Then the disciples came and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal heard this saying?” 13And he answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14Let#Or “Depart from” them! They are blind guides of the blind. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15But Peter answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16But he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17Do you not understand that everything that enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and is evacuated into the latrine? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile the person. 19For from the heart come evil plans, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, abusive speech. 20These are the things that defile a person. But eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person!”
A Canaanite Woman’s Great Faith
21And departing from there, Jesus went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman from that district came and cried out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!” 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came up and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb asked him, saying, “Send her away, because she is crying out after us!” 24But he answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came”) has been translated as a finite verb knelt down before him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26And he answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation to the dogs!” 27So she said, “Yes, Lord, for even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” 28Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you want.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Many Others Healed in Galilee
29And departing from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up on the mountain and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“went up”) has been translated as a finite verb was sitting there. 30And large crowds came to him, having with them the mute, blind, lame, crippled,#Some manuscripts have “the lame, blind, crippled, mute” and many others, and they put them down at his feet, and he healed them. 31So then the crowd was astonished when they#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.
The Feeding of Four Thousand
32And Jesus summoned his disciples and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“summoned”) has been translated as a finite verb said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat, and I do not want to send them away hungry lest they give out on the way.” 33And the disciples said to him, “Where in this desolate place can we get#Literally “for us” so much bread that such a great crowd could be satisfied?” 34And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” So they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.” 35And commanding the crowd to recline for a meal on the ground, 36he took the seven loaves and the fish and after he#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal had given thanks, he broke them#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation and began giving#The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began giving”) them#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full. 38Now those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children. 39And after he#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“had given thanks”) which is understood as temporal sent away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
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