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Tradition and Commandment

aThen some Pharisees and scribes *came to Jesus bfrom Jerusalem and said, Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they ado not wash their hands when they eat bread.” And He answered and said to them, Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, aHONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER, and, bTHE ONE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO 1BE PUT TO DEATH. But you say, Whoever says to his father or mother, Whatever I have that would help you has been 1given to God, he is not to 1honor his father or mother. And by this you have invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, by saying:

8 aTHIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.9 AND IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,TEACHING AS aDOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.

10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, Hear and understand! 11 aIt is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the person.

12 Then the disciples came and *said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were 1offended when they heard this statement?” 13 But He answered and said, aEvery plant which My heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone; athey are blind guides 1of blind people. And bif a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.

The Heart of Mankind

15 Peter 1said to Him, “aExplain the parable to us.” 16 1Jesus said, Are you also still lacking in understanding? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is 1eliminated? 18 But athe things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. 19 aFor out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and 1slanderous statements. 20 These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person.

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 aJesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of bTyre and cSidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, aSon of David; my daughter is severely bdemon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting 1at us!” 24 But He answered and said, I was sent only to athe lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 But she came and abegan 1to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 Yet He answered and said, It is not 1good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs. 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, O woman, ayour faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed 1at once.

Healing Crowds

29 aDeparting from there, Jesus went along bthe Sea of Galilee, and after going up on the mountain, He was sitting there. 30 And 1large crowds came to Him bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and aHe healed them. 31 So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs 1restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they aglorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Men Fed

32 aNow Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, bI feel compassion for the 1people, because they 2have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way. 33 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 1people to 2sit down on the ground; 36 and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and after agiving thanks, He broke them and started 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 abaskets full. 38 And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39 And sending away the crowds, Jesus got into athe boat and came to the region of bMagadan.