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Matthew 15
New King James Version

### Defilement Comes from Within(A)

15 Then (B)the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 (C)“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”

3 He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, (D)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, (E)‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, (F)“Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”— 6 then he need not honor his father [a]or mother.’ Thus you have made the [b]commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 (G)Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

8 ‘These(H) people [c]draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
(I)Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

10 (J)When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 (K)Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

13 But He answered and said, (L)“Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. (M)They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

15 (N)Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

16 So Jesus said, (O)“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that (P)whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But (Q)those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 (R)For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

### A Gentile Shows Her Faith(S)

21 (T)Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, (U)Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”

23 But He answered her not a word.

And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”

24 But He answered and said, (V)“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”

26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little (W)dogs.”

27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, (X)great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

### Jesus Heals Great Multitudes(Y)

29 (Z)Jesus departed from there, (AA)skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 (AB)Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, [d]maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus’ (AC)feet, and He healed them. 31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the [e]maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they (AD)glorified the God of Israel.

### Feeding the Four Thousand(AE)

32 (AF)Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

33 (AG)Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?”

34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”

And they said, “Seven, and a few little fish.”

35 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36 And (AH)He took the seven loaves and the fish and (AI)gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. 37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. 38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 (AJ)And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of [f]Magdala.

#### Footnotes

1. Matthew 15:6 NU omits or mother
2. Matthew 15:6 NU word
3. Matthew 15:8 NU omits draw near to Me with their mouth, And
4. Matthew 15:30 crippled
5. Matthew 15:31 crippled
6. Matthew 15:39 NU Magadan

#### Cross references

1. Matthew 15:1 : Mark 7:1–23
2. Matthew 15:1 : Mark 7:1; John 1:19; Acts 25:7
3. Matthew 15:2 : Mark 7:5
4. Matthew 15:4 : Ex. 20:1, 12; Lev. 19:3; [Deut. 5:16]; Prov. 23:22; [Eph. 6:2, 3]
5. Matthew 15:4 : Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9; Deut. 27:16; Prov. 20:20; 30:17
6. Matthew 15:5 : Mark 7:11, 12
7. Matthew 15:7 : Mark 7:6
8. Matthew 15:8 : Ps. 78:36; Is. 29:13; Ezek. 33:31
9. Matthew 15:9 : Is. 29:13; [Col. 2:18–22]; Titus 1:14
10. Matthew 15:10 : Mark 7:14
11. Matthew 15:11 : [Acts 10:15; Rom. 14:14, 17, 20; 1 Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:15]
12. Matthew 15:13 : [Is. 60:21; 61:3; John 15:2; 1 Cor. 3:12, 13]
13. Matthew 15:14 : Is. 9:16; Mal. 2:8; Matt. 23:16, 24; Luke 6:39; Rom. 2:19
14. Matthew 15:15 : Mark 7:17
15. Matthew 15:16 : Matt. 16:9; Mark 7:18
16. Matthew 15:17 : [1 Cor. 6:13]
17. Matthew 15:18 : [Matt. 12:34]; Mark 7:20; [James 3:6]
18. Matthew 15:19 : Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Prov. 6:14; Jer. 17:9; Mark 7:21; [Rom. 1:29–32; Gal. 5:19–21]
19. Matthew 15:21 : Mark 7:24–30
20. Matthew 15:21 : Mark 7:24–30
21. Matthew 15:22 : Matt. 1:1; 22:41, 42
22. Matthew 15:24 : Matt. 10:5, 6; [Rom. 15:8]
23. Matthew 15:26 : Matt. 7:6; Phil. 3:2
24. Matthew 15:28 : Luke 7:9
25. Matthew 15:29 : Mark 7:31–37
26. Matthew 15:29 : Matt. 15:29–31; Mark 7:31–37
27. Matthew 15:29 : Matt. 4:18
28. Matthew 15:30 : Is. 35:5, 6; Matt. 11:5; Luke 7:22
29. Matthew 15:30 : Mark 7:25; Luke 7:38; 8:41; 10:39
30. Matthew 15:31 : Luke 5:25, 26; 19:37, 38
31. Matthew 15:32 : Mark 8:1–10
32. Matthew 15:32 : Mark 8:1–10
33. Matthew 15:33 : 2 Kin. 4:43
34. Matthew 15:36 : Matt. 14:19; 26:27; Luke 22:17, 19; John 6:11, 23; Acts 27:35; [Rom. 14:6]
35. Matthew 15:36 : 1 Sam. 9:13; Luke 22:19
36. Matthew 15:39 : Mark 8:10

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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