1Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3And He answered and said to them, “And 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, LET HIM BE PUT TO DEATH.’ 5“But you say, ‘Whoever shall say to his father or mother, “Anything of mine you might have been helped by has been given to God,” 6he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And thus you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7“You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

     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 PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”

10And after He called the multitude to Him, He said to them, “Hear, and understand. 11“Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” 12Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” 13But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up. 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

     15And Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16And He 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 is eliminated? 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, fornications, 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 Syrophoenician Woman

     21And Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from that region, and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” 23But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came to Him and kept asking Him, saying, “Send her away, for she is shouting out after us.” 24But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; be it done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

Healing Multitudes

     29And departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up to the mountain, He was sitting there. 30And great multitudes came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, dumb, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them, 31so that the multitude marveled as they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Four Thousand Fed

     32And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the multitude, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not wish to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33And the disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in a desolate place to satisfy such a great multitude?” 34And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35And He directed the multitude to sit down on the ground; 36and He took the seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples in turn, to the multitudes. 37And they all ate, and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. 38And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39And sending away the multitudes, He got into the boat, and came to the region of Magadan.