## God's Commandments, Man's Traditions ###### 1 Then some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ###### 2 "Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." ###### 3 And He answered and said to them, **"Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?** ###### 4 For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.' ###### 5 But you say, 'Whoever says to _his_ father or mother, "Whatever you might benefit from me is given _to God_," ###### 6 he need not honor his father.' And _by this_ you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. ###### 7 You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ###### 8 'This people honors Me with their lips, **But their heart is far away from Me**. ###### 9 But in vain do they worship Me, **Teaching as** doctrines the commands of men.'" ###### 10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, **"Hear and understand.** ###### 11 _It is_ not what enters into the mouth _that_ defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man." ###### 12 Then the disciples *came and *said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?" ###### 13 But He answered and said, **"Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.** ###### 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." ## The Heart of Man ###### 15 Now Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain the parable to us." ###### 16 And Jesus said, **"Are you still lacking in understanding also?** ###### 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and goes into the sewer? ###### 18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. ###### 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false witness, slanders. ###### 20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man." ## The Canaanite Woman ###### 21 And going away from there, Jesus withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. ###### 22 And behold, 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." ###### 23 But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and were pleading with Him, saying, "Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us." ###### 24 But He answered and said, **"I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."** ###### 25 But she came and was bowing down before Him, saying, "Lord, help me!" ###### 26 And He answered and said, **"It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."** ###### 27 But she said, "Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters' table." ###### 28 Then Jesus answered and 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. ## Jesus Heals the Crowds ###### 29 And departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. ###### 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. ###### 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. ## Jesus Feeds Four Thousand ###### 32 And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, **"I feel compassion for the crowd, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."** ###### 33 And the disciples *said to Him, "Where would we get so many loaves in _this_ desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?" ###### 34 And Jesus *said to them, **"How many loaves do you have?"** And they said, "Seven, and a few small fish." ###### 35 And He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground; ###### 36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and kept giving them to the disciples, and the disciples _gave them_ to the crowds. ###### 37 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven _large_ baskets full. ###### 38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ###### 39 And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.