15:1  Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,

15:2  "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread."

15:3  And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

15:4  "For God said, `HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,' and, `HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.'

15:5  "But you say, `Whoever says to {his} father or mother, "Whatever I have that would help you has been given {to God,}"

15:6  he is not to honor his father or his mother.' And {by this} you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

15:7  "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

15:8  `THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

15:9  `BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'"

15:10  After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, "Hear and understand.

15:11  "{It is} not what enters into the mouth {that} defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man."

15:12  Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?"

15:13  But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.

15:14  "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

15:15  Peter said to Him, "Explain the parable to us."

15:16  Jesus said, "Are you still lacking in understanding also?

15:17  "Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?

15:18  "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.

15:19  "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

15:20  "These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man."

15:21  Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon.

15:22  And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and {began} to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed."

15:23  But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, "Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us."

15:24  But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

15:25  But she came and {began} to bow down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!"

15:26  And He answered and said, "It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

15:27  But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."

15:28  Then Jesus said to her, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish. And her daughter was healed at once."

15:29  Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.

15:30  And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them {those who were} lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.

15:31  So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

15:32  And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, "I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way."

15:33  The disciples *said to Him, "Where would we get so many loaves in {this} desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?"

15:34  And Jesus *said to them, "How many loaves do you have? And they said, "Seven, and a few small fish.""

15:35  And He directed the people to sit down on the ground;

15:36  and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples {gave them} to the people.

15:37  And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full.

15:38  And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

15:39  And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.