A modern English translation drawn directly from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Translated word-for-word where possible, by a committee with scholarly oversight.
Uses the same source texts as the ESV, NASB, and most academic Bibles, including the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia and the Nestle-Aland critical edition.
Matthew 15
Chapter summary coming soon.
Verse 1. Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
Verse 2. “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
Verse 3. Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
Verse 4. For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
Verse 5. But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
Verse 6. he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
Verse 7. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
Verse 8. ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
Verse 9. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
Verse 10. Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
Verse 11. A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
Verse 12. Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
Verse 13. But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
Verse 14. Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Verse 15. Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
Verse 16. “Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.
Verse 17. “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?
Verse 18. But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
Verse 19. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
Verse 20. These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”
Verse 21. Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
Verse 22. And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”
Verse 23. But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
Verse 24. He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Verse 25. The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
Verse 26. But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
Verse 27. “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
Verse 28. “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Verse 29. Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.
Verse 30. Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.
Verse 31. The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
Verse 32. Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”
Verse 33. The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
Verse 34. “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
Verse 35. And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Verse 36. Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
Verse 37. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Verse 38. A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children.
Verse 39. After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.