Matthew, 15

1. Then some Pharisees and teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. And they said to him,

2. "Why don't your disciples follow the tradition of the elders? In fact, they don't wash their hands before eating."

3. Jesus answered, "And you, why do you break God's command for the sake of your traditions?

4. For God commanded: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and: whoever curses his father or his mother is to be put to death.

5. But you say that anyone may say to his father or mother: 'What you could have expected from me, I have reserved for the Temple.'

6. In this case, according to you, a person is freed of his duty to his father and mother. And so, you have nullified the command of God for the sake of your traditions.

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

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

9. The worship they offer me is worthless, for they only teach human rules."

10. Jesus then called the people near him and said to them, "Listen and understand:

11. what enters into the mouth does not make a person unclean, what defiles one is what comes out of his mouth."

12. After a while the disciples gathered around Jesus and said, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended by what you said?"

13. Jesus answered, "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted.

14. Pay no attention to them! They are blind leading the blind. When a blind person leads another, the two will fall into a pit."

15. Peter said to him, "Explain this sentence to us."

16. Jesus replied, "So even you, too, are dull?

17. Do you not see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach, and then out of the body?

18. But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and that is what makes a person unclean.

19. Indeed, it is from the heart that evil desires come - murder, adultery, immorality, theft, lies, slander.

20. These are the things that make a person unclean; but eating without washing the hands does not make a person unclean."

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

22. Now a Canaanite woman came from those borders and began to cry out, "Lord, Son of David, have pity on me! My daughter is tormented by a demon."

23. But Jesus did not answer her, not even a word. So his disciples approached him and said, "Send her away: see how she is shouting after us."

24. Then Jesus said to her, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation of Israel."

25. But the woman was already kneeling before Jesus and said, "Sir, help me!"

26. Jesus answered, "It is not right to take the bread from the children and throw it to the little dogs."

27. The woman replied, "It is true, sir, but even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their master's table."

28. Then Jesus said, "Woman, how great is your faith! Let it be as you wish." And her daughter was healed at that moment.

29. From there Jesus went to the shore of Lake Galilee, and then went up into the hills where he sat down.

30. Great crowds came to him, bringing the dumb, the blind, the lame, the crippled, and many with other infirmities. The people carried them to the feet of Jesus, and he healed them.

31. All were astonished when they saw the dumb speaking, the lame walking, the crippled healed and the blind able to see; so they glorified the God of Israel.

32. Jesus called his disciples and said to them, "I am filled with compassion for these people; they have already followed me for three days and now have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away fasting, or they may faint on the way."

33. His disciples said to him, "And where shall we find enough bread in this wilderness to feed such a crowd?"

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

35. So Jesus ordered the people to sit on the ground.

36. Then he took the seven loaves and the small fish and gave thanks to God. He broke them and gave them to his disciples, who distributed them to the people.

37. They all ate and were satisfied, and the leftover broken pieces filled seven wicker baskets.

38. Four thousand men had eaten, besides women and children.

39. Then Jesus sent away the crowd, got into the boat and went to Magdala.