Matthew 15
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 15
Traditions That Falsify the Law of God. 1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 [a]“Why do your disciples ignore the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before eating.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses his father or mother shall be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone says to his father or mother, “Anything I might have used for your support is dedicated to God,” 6 then he is excused from his duty to honor his father or mother.’ To uphold your tradition you have made God’s word null and void. 7 You hypocrites! How rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:
8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”
10 Clean and Unclean.[b] Then he called the people to him and said to them, “Listen and understand. 11 It is not what goes into one’s mouth that defiles a person; what comes out of the mouth is what defiles him.”
12 The disciples approached and said to him, “Do you realize that the Pharisees were greatly offended when they heard what you said?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone. They are blind guides. And if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a pit.”
15 Peter said to him, “Explain that parable to us.” 16 Jesus replied, “Are even you still without understanding? 17 Do you not realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes through the stomach and is discharged into the sewer? 18 But what comes out of the mouth originates in the heart, and this is what defiles a person. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not make anyone unclean.”
21 The Faith of a Pagan Woman.[c] Jesus then left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.[d] 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out to meet him and cried out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David. My daughter is sorely tormented by a demon.” 23 But he did not say a word to her in reply.
So his disciples came and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt at his feet, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 He answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She replied, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, you have great faith. Let it be done for you as you wish.” And from that moment her daughter was healed.
29 Jesus Heals Many People.[e]After leaving that region, Jesus walked along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and going up onto the mountain, he sat down. 30 Large crowds flocked to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others. They placed them at his feet, and he cured them. 31 The crowds were amazed when they observed the mute speaking, the crippled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind with their sight restored, and they gave praise to the God of Israel.
32 Jesus Feeds Four Thousand Men. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I am moved with compassion for these people, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
33 The disciples said to him, “Where can we ever get enough bread in this deserted place to feed such a great crowd?” 34 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward, they picked up seven baskets full of what remained. 38 Those who had eaten numbered four thousand men, not counting women and children. 39 And when he had sent away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:2 The “oral” tradition consisted of practices and regulations meant to fill out the written Law of Moses; many Pharisaic Jews did not hesitate to claim that this tradition, like the Torah, had been revealed on Sinai. The oral tradition allowed for a vow by which a man could free himself from his obligations to his own parents: the material goods meant for them were promised to God and thus declared “sacred offerings.”
- Matthew 15:10 Every ancient religion attempted to distinguish clearly the two notions of clean and unclean as regards objects and affairs of life. The Book of Leviticus proposes a developed code of ritual purity, which was above all a way of expressing the grandeur of God and of establishing laws of respect in the behavior of human beings. However, as time went on, this great inspiration was lost in a soulless formalism. In the tightly regulated life of the Jews of the first century A.D., the dispositions of the heart held such a small place that even the apostles have trouble understanding the teaching of Jesus. He unmasks hypocrisy. How can one not be shocked by his words, which overturn even the religious assurance of humans!
- Matthew 15:21 The Israelites regarded themselves as children of God because they were heirs of the promises made to the patriarchs and depositaries of the divine revelation. On the contrary, they called the Gentiles dogs out of contempt for their idolatrous and immoral practices. Jesus makes use of these two terms but softens the second, which in the Greek is “little dogs,” i.e., pet dogs in the home. His point was that the Gospel was to be offered first to the Jews. The woman understood his implication and was willing to settle for the “crumbs.” Jesus rewarded her faith.
- Matthew 15:21 Tyre and Sidon: these were Phoenician cities; Canaanite was the ancient name of their populations.
- Matthew 15:29 This second miracle of the loaves has many analogies with the first multiplication of the loaves. Therefore, some exegetes speak of a duplication, i.e., a different reporting of the same episode. However, there are so many diverse circumstances in the two episodes that Matthew and Mark believe in two distinct miracles.
马太福音 15
Chinese New Version (Traditional)
不可因傳統廢棄 神的誡命(A)
15 有法利賽人和經學家從耶路撒冷前來，問耶穌： 2 “你的門徒為甚麼違背古人的傳統，在飯前不洗手呢？” 3 耶穌回答：“你們又為甚麼因你們的傳統，違背 神的誡命呢？ 4 神說：‘當孝敬父母’，又說：‘咒罵父母的必被處死’。 5 你們卻說：‘人若對父母說：“我應該給你們的，已經作了獻給 神的禮物”， 6 他就可以不孝敬父母了。’你們因為你們的傳統，就廢棄了 神的話。 7 偽君子啊，以賽亞指著你們說的預言說得好：
8 ‘這人民用嘴唇尊敬我，心卻遠離我；
9 他們把人的規條當作道理去教導人，
所以拜我也是徒然。’”
10 耶穌叫群眾前來，對他們說：“你們要聽，也要明白。 11 進到口裡的不能使人污穢，只有從口裡出來的，才能使人污穢。” 12 門徒前來告訴他：“法利賽人聽了這話很生氣，你知道嗎？” 13 耶穌說：“所有不是我天父栽種的植物，都要連根拔起來。 14 由得他們吧！他們是瞎眼的，卻作了嚮導；如果瞎子領瞎子，二人都會跌進坑裡。” 15 彼得說：“請你給我們解釋這個比喻吧。” 16 耶穌說：“你們還是不明白嗎？ 17 難道不知道一切進到口裡的，是進到肚腹，然後排泄到外面（“外面”或譯：“廁所”）去嗎？ 18 但從口裡出來的，是發自內心，才會使人污穢。 19 因為從心裡出來的，有惡念、兇殺、姦淫、淫亂、偷盜、假見證和毀謗。 20 這些才會使人污穢，不洗手吃飯卻不會這樣。”
迦南婦人的信心(B)
21 耶穌離開那裡，退到推羅、西頓境內。 22 有一個迦南的婦人從那地區出來，喊著說：“主啊，大衛的子孫，可憐我吧！我的女兒被鬼附得很苦。” 23 耶穌一句話也不回答她。門徒上前求他說：“請叫她走吧，她一直跟在我們後面喊叫。” 24 耶穌回答：“我被差遣，只是到以色列家的迷羊那裡去。” 25 她來跪在耶穌面前說：“主啊，求你幫助我！” 26 耶穌回答：“拿兒女的餅丟給小狗吃是不好的。” 27 她說：“主啊，是的，不過小狗也吃主人桌子上掉下來的碎渣。” 28 於是耶穌對她說：“婦人，你的信心真大，照你所想的給你成就吧！”從那時起，她的女兒就好了。
治好許多病人(C)
29 耶穌離開那裡，來到加利利海邊，就上山坐下。 30 有許多人來到他那裡，把瘸腿的、瞎眼的、殘廢的、啞的和許多別的病人，都帶到耶穌跟前，他就醫好他們。 31 群眾看見啞巴說話，殘廢的復原，瘸腿的行走，瞎眼的看見，就十分驚奇，於是頌讚以色列的 神。
給四千人吃飽的神蹟(D)
32 耶穌叫門徒前來，說：“我憐憫這一群人，因為他們跟我在一起已經有三天，也沒有甚麼吃的；我不想叫他們餓著肚子回去，恐怕他們在路上暈倒。” 33 門徒對他說：“我們在這曠野地方，哪裡有足夠的食物給這許多的人吃飽呢？” 34 耶穌問他們：“你們有多少餅？”他們說：“七個餅和幾條小魚。” 35 他就吩咐群眾坐在地上， 36 拿起那七個餅和那些魚，祝謝了，擘開遞給門徒，門徒又分給眾人。 37 大家都吃了，並且吃飽了。他們把剩下的零碎拾起來，裝滿了七個大籃子。 38 吃的人，除了婦女和孩子，共有四千。 39 耶穌解散了群眾，就上了船，來到馬加丹地區。
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
