Matthew 15
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
15 Then came to him from Jerusalem scribes and Pharisees, saying:
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the ancients? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answering, said to them: Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for your tradition? For God said:
4 Honour thy father and mother: And: He that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death.
5 But you say: Whosoever shall say to father or mother, The gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit thee.
6 And he shall not honour his father or his mother: and you have made void the commandment of God for your tradition.
7 Hypocrites, well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying:
8 This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me.
9 And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men.
10 And having called together the multitudes unto him, he said to them: Hear ye and understand.
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man: but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12 Then came his disciples, and said to him: Dost thou know that the Pharisees, when they heard this word, were scandalized?
13 But he answering them, said: Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14 Let them alone: they are blind, and leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit.
15 And Peter answering, said to him: Expound to us this parable.
16 But he said: Are you also yet without understanding?
17 Do you not understand, that whatsoever entereth into the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy?
18 But the things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and those things defile a man.
19 For from the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies.
20 These are the things that defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands doth not defile a man.
21 And Jesus went from thence, and retired into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold a woman of Canaan who came out of those coasts, crying out, said to him: Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David: my daughter is grieviously troubled by the devil.
23 Who answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying: Send her away, for she crieth after us:
24 And he answering, said: I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel.
25 But she came and adored him, saying: Lord, help me.
26 Who answering, said: It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs.
27 But she said: Yea, Lord; for the whelps also eat of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters.
28 Then Jesus answering, said to her: O woman, great is thy faith: be it done to thee as thou wilt: and her daughter was cured from that hour.
29 And when Jesus had passed away from thence, he came nigh the sea of Galilee. And going up into a mountain, he sat there.
30 And there came to him great multitudes, having with them the dumb, the blind, the lame, the maimed, and many others: and they cast them down at his feet, and he healed them:
31 So that the multitudes marvelled seeing the dumb speak, the lame walk, and the blind see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
32 And Jesus called together his disciples, and said: I have compassion on the multitudes, because they continue with me now three days, and have not what to eat, and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33 And the disciples say unto him: Whence then should we have so many loaves in the desert, as to fill so great a multitude?
34 And Jesus said to them: How many loaves have you? But they said: Seven, and a few little fishes.
35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down upon the ground.
36 And taking the seven loaves and the fishes, and giving thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the people.
37 And they did all eat, and had their fill. And they took up seven baskets full, of what remained of the fragments.
38 And they that did eat, were four thousand men, beside children and women.
39 And having dismissed the multitude, he went up into a boat, and came into the coasts of Magedan.
Matthew 15
Common English Bible
Rules from the elders
15 Then Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why are your disciples breaking the elders’ rules handed down to us? They don’t ritually purify their hands by washing before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “Why do you break the command of God by keeping the rules handed down to you? 4 For God said, Honor your father and your mother,[a] and The person who speaks against father or mother will certainly be put to death.[b] 5 But you say, ‘If you tell your father or mother, “Everything I’m expected to contribute to you I’m giving to God as a gift,”then you don’t have to honor your father.’ 6 So you do away with God’s Law for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you. 7 Hypocrites! Isaiah really knew what he was talking about when he prophesied about you, 8 This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me. 9 Their worship of me is empty since they teach instructions that are human rules.”[c]
10 Jesus called the crowd near and said to them, “Listen and understand. 11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that contaminates a person in God’s sight. It’s what comes out of the mouth that contaminates the person.”
12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended by what you just said?”
13 Jesus replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be pulled up. 14 Leave the Pharisees alone. They are blind people who are guides to blind people. But if a blind person leads another blind person, they will both fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter spoke up, “Explain this riddle to us.”
16 Jesus said, “Don’t you understand yet? 17 Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth enters the stomach and goes out into the sewer? 18 But what goes out of the mouth comes from the heart. And that’s what contaminates a person in God’s sight. 19 Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adultery, sexual sins, thefts, false testimonies, and insults. 20 These contaminate a person in God’s sight. But eating without washing hands doesn’t contaminate in God’s sight.”
Canaanite woman
21 From there, Jesus went to the regions of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from those territories came out and shouted, “Show me mercy, Son of David. My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.” 23 But he didn’t respond to her at all.
His disciples came and urged him, “Send her away; she keeps shouting out after us.”
24 Jesus replied, “I’ve been sent only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.”
25 But she knelt before him and said, “Lord, help me.”
26 He replied, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and toss it to dogs.”
27 She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall off their masters’ table.”
28 Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith. It will be just as you wish.” And right then her daughter was healed.
Healing of many people
29 Jesus moved on from there along the shore of the Galilee Sea. He went up a mountain and sat down. 30 Large crowds came to him, including those who were paralyzed, blind, injured, and unable to speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 So the crowd was amazed when they saw those who had been unable to speak talking, and the paralyzed cured, and the injured walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
Feeding the four thousand
32 Now Jesus called his disciples and said, “I feel sorry for the crowd because they have been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry for fear they won’t have enough strength to travel.”
33 His disciples replied, “Where are we going to get enough food in this wilderness to satisfy such a big crowd?”
34 Jesus said, “How much bread do you have?”
They responded, “Seven loaves and a few fish.”
35 He told the crowd to sit on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. After he gave thanks, he broke them into pieces and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 Everyone ate until they were full. The disciples collected seven baskets full of leftovers. 38 Four thousand men ate, plus women and children. 39 After dismissing the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.
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