Now ^athe Pharisees and some of the scribes came ^bfrom Jerusalem and gathered around Him, 2 and they had seen that some of His disciples ate their bread with ceremonially ^aimpure hands, that is, unwashed and defiled according to Jewish religious ritual. 3 (¹For the Pharisees and all of the Jews do not eat unless they ²carefully wash their hands, holding firmly to the ^atraditions of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they ¹cleanse themselves completely according to ritual; and there are many other things oral, man-made laws and traditions handed down to them which they follow diligently, such as the washing of ^acups and pitchers and copper utensils.) 5 So the Pharisees and scribes asked Jesus, “Why do Your disciples not live their lives according to the ^atradition of the elders, but instead eat their bread with ceremonially ^bunwashed hands?” 6 He replied, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites (play-actors, pretenders) , as it is written in Scripture,‘^aTHESE PEOPLE HONOR ME WITH THEIR LIPS,BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME.

8 You disregard and neglect the commandment of God, and cling faithfully to the ^atradition of men.”

9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside and nullifying the commandment of God in order to keep your man-made ^atradition and regulations. 10 For Moses said, ‘^aHONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER with respect and gratitude’; and, ‘^bHE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF HIS FATHER OR MOTHER MUST BE PUT TO DEATH’; Ex 20:12; 21:17; Lev 20:9; Deut 5:16 11 but you Pharisees and scribes say, ‘If a man tells his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you is ^aCorban, (that is to say, already a gift to God),”’ 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother since helping them would violate his vow of Corban; 13 so you nullify the authority of the word of God acting as if it did not apply because of your ^atradition which you have handed down through the elders. And you do many things such as that.”

14 After He called the people to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen carefully to Me, all of you, hear and understand what I am saying: 15 there is nothing outside a man such as food which by going into him can defile him morally or spiritually; but the things which come out of the heart of a man are what defile and dishonor him. 16 [¹If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]

17 When Jesus had left the crowd and gone into ^athe ¹house, ^bHis disciples asked Him about the parable. 18 And He said to them, “Are you, too, so foolish and lacking in understanding? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile and dishonor him, 19 since it does not enter his heart, but only his stomach, and from there it is eliminated?” (By this, He declared ^aall foods ¹ceremonially ^bclean.) 20 And He said, “^aWhatever comes from the heart of a man, that is what defiles and dishonors him. 21 For from within, that is out of the heart of men, come base and malevolent thoughts and schemes, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 acts of greed and covetousness, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained conduct, ^aenvy and jealousy, slander and profanity, arrogance and self-righteousness and foolishness (poor judgment) . 23 All these evil things schemes and desires come from within and defile and dishonor the man.”

24 ^aJesus got up and left there and went to the region of ^bTyre and Sidon, the coastal area of Phoenicia. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know about it; but it was impossible for Him to be hidden from the public. Matt 15:21-28 25 Instead, after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile (Greek) , a ¹Syrophoenician by nationality. And she kept pleading with Him to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 He was saying to her, “First let the children of Israel be fed, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the ¹pet dogs (non-Jews) .” 28 But she replied, “Yes, Lord, but even the pet dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this answer reflecting your humility and faith, go knowing that your request is granted; the demon has left your daughter permanently.” 30 And returning to her home, she found the child lying on the couch relaxed and resting, the demon having gone.

31 ^aSoon after this Jesus left the region of ^bTyre, and passed through Sidon to ^cthe Sea of Galilee, through the region of ^dDecapolis the ten Hellenistic cities. 32 They brought to Him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they begged Jesus to ^aplace His hand on him. 33 ^aJesus, taking him aside by himself, away from the crowd, put His fingers into the man’s ears, and after ^bspitting, He touched the man’s tongue with the saliva; 34 and looking up to heaven, He ^asighed deeply and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which in Aramaic means, “¹Be opened and released!” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he began speaking plainly. 36 ^aJesus commanded them not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they ^bcontinued to proclaim it. 37 They were thoroughly astounded and completely overwhelmed, saying, “He has done everything well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”

^aThe Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come ^bfrom Jerusalem, 2 and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with ^aimpure hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they ¹carefully wash their hands, thus observing the ^atraditions of the elders; 4 and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they ¹cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the ²washing of ^acups and pitchers and copper pots.) 5 The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the ^atradition of the elders, but eat their bread with ^bimpure hands?” 6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:‘^aTHIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the ^atradition of men.”

9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your ^atradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘^aHONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘^bHE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO ¹BE PUT TO DEATH’; 11 but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is ^aCorban (that is to say, ¹given to God),’ 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thus invalidating the word of God by your ^atradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. 16 [¹If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]

17 When He had left the crowd and entered ^athe house, ^bHis disciples questioned Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and ¹is eliminated?” (Thus He declared ^aall foods ^bclean.) 20 And He was saying, “^aThat which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, ¹fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, ^1aenvy, slander, ²pride and foolishness. 23 All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

24 ^aJesus got up and went away from there to the region of ^bTyre¹. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; ²yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a ¹Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not ¹good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this ¹answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And going back to her home, she found the child ¹lying on the bed, the demon having left.

31 ^aAgain He went out from the region of ^bTyre, and came through Sidon to ^cthe Sea of Galilee, within the region of ^dDecapolis. 32 They *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *implored Him to ^alay His hand on him. 33 ^aJesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after ^bspitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; 34 and looking up to heaven with a deep ^asigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the ¹impediment of his tongue ²was removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And ^aHe gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they ^bcontinued to proclaim it. 37 They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

^aThe Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered to Him after they came ^bfrom Jerusalem, 2 and saw that some of His disciples were eating their bread with ^1aunholy hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the other Jews do not eat unless they ¹carefully wash their hands, thereby holding firmly to the ^atradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they ¹completely cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received as traditions to firmly hold, such as the ²washing of ^acups, pitchers, and copper pots.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk in accordance with the ^atradition of the elders, but eat their bread with ^1bunholy hands?” 6 But He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:‘^aTHIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the ^atradition of men.”

9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your ^atradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘^aHONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘^bTHE ONE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS ¹CERTAINLY TO BE PUT TO DEATH’; 11 but you say, ‘If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is ^aCorban (that is, ¹given to God),’ 12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your ^atradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person¹.”

17 And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, ^aHis disciples asked Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and ¹is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared ^aall foods ^bclean.) 20 And He was saying, “^aThat which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person. 21 For from within, out of the ¹hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, 22 deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, ^1aenvy, slander, ²pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”

24 ^aNow Jesus got up and went from there to the region of ^bTyre¹. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know about it; and yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a ¹Gentile, of Syrophoenician descent. And she repeatedly asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not ¹good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the ²dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this ¹answer, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And after going back to her home, she found the child ¹lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

31 ^aAgain He left the region of ^bTyre and came through Sidon to ^cthe Sea of Galilee, within the region of ^dDecapolis. 32 And they *brought to Him one who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they *begged Him to ^alay His hand on him. 33 And Jesus ^atook him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers in his ears, and after ^bspitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; 34 and looking up to heaven with a deep ^asigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the ¹impediment of his tongue was ²removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And ^aHe gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they ^bcontinued to proclaim it. 37 And they were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even those who are deaf hear, and those who are unable to talk, speak.”