Passage

Matthew 15

"1. Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, 2. Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3. And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4. For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death. 5. But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given to God; 6. he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. 7. Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8. This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me. 9. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. 10. And he called to him the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11. Not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man; but that which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man. 12. Then came the disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying? 13. But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up. 14. Let them alone: they are blind guides. And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit. 15. And Peter answered and said unto him, Declare unto us the parable. 16. And he said, Are ye also even yet without understanding? 17. Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18. But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man. 19. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, railings: 20. these are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not the man. 21. And Jesus went out thence, and withdrew into the parts of Tyre and Sidon. 22. And behold, a Canaanitish woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a demon. 23. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24. But he answered and said, I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25. But she came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26. And he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs. 27. But she said, Yea, Lord: for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was healed from that hour. 29. And Jesus departed thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and he went up into the mountain, and sat there. 30. And there came unto him great multitudes, having with them the lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they cast them down at his feet; and he healed them: 31. insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, and lame walking, and the blind seeing: and they glorified the God of Israel. 32. And Jesus called unto him his disciples, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat: and I would not send them away fasting, lest haply they faint on the way. 33. And the disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so many loaves in a desert place as to fill so great a multitude? 34. And Jesus said unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few small fishes. 35. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; 36. and he took the seven loaves and the fishes; and he gave thanks and brake, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. 37. And they all ate, and were filled: and they took up that which remained over of the broken pieces, seven baskets full. 38. And they that did eat were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39. And he sent away the multitudes, and entered into the boat, and came into the borders of Magadan." (Matthew 15:1-39, ASV) (Translation placeholder, NASB95 default; ASV rendering shown above.)

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ESV (ESV)

"Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 'Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.' He answered them, 'And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, "Honor your father and your mother," and, "Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die." But you say, "If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God," he need not honor his father." So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."' And he called the people to him and said to them, 'Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.' Then the disciples came and said to him, 'Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?' He answered, 'Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.' But Peter said to him, 'Explain the parable to us.' And he said, 'Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.' And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.' But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, 'Send her away, for she is crying out after us.' He answered, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' But she came and knelt before him, saying, 'Lord, help me.' And he answered, 'It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.' She said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered her, 'O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.' And her daughter was healed instantly. Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel. 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.' And the disciples said to him, 'Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?' And Jesus said to them, 'How many loaves do you have?' They said, 'Seven, and a few small fish.' And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 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. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan." (Matthew 15:1-39, ESV)

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Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.