Open English Translation MAT Chapter 15

15 Then some from the Pharisees’ party and teachers of the law from Yerushalem arrived and asked Yeshua, 2 “Why do your followers break the traditions handed down by our elders? They’re not practicing the washing hands ceremony before eating.”

3 “Well why also do you break God’s commandment because of your tradition?” Yeshua responded. 4 [ref]“God told us to honour our father and our mother, and also that anyone who speaks evil about their father or mother deserves the death penalty. 5 But you all say that anyone who tells their father or mother that whatever help they may have expected from you is now given as a gift, 6 then you say that they’re not actually dishonouring their parents. So by saying that, you’re overriding God’s message with your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! The prophet Isayah was right about you all when he wrote:[ref]

8 ‘These people honour me with their lips,

But their hearts are far away from me.

9 Their worship of me is useless,

They teach human ideas as if they’re commandments.’ ”

10 Then Yeshua called out to the crowd, “Listen carefully so you can understand this: 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, but rather, it’s what comes out of your mouth.”

12 His followers then came up to him and told him, “You know that the Pharisees were offended by what you just said?”

13 “Every plant,” Yeshua answered, “that wasn’t planted by my heavenly father will get pulled out. 14 [ref]Just ignore them. They are blind guides, and if blind people are leading the blind, both of them will stumble into a pit.”

15 But Peter asked him, “So interpret the parable for us.”

16 “Can’t you all figure it out yet?” Yeshua replied. 17 Can’t you all see that everything that goes into your mouth, goes down into your stomach and then eventually ends up in the toilet? 18 [ref]But the things that come out of your mouth are coming from your mind and that’s what defiles a person. 19 Because lust, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, falsely accusing and slander, these all come of the mind. 20 It’s those things that defile a person, not eating without ceremonially washing your hands.”

21 Then Yeshua left Galilee and went out to the districts of Tyre and Tsidon. 22 Then, look, a woman from that area and of Caananite ancestry came to hum and called out, “Master, David’s descendant, my daughter is suffering from demon possession.”

23 But Yeshua didn’t even answer her. So his apprentices came up and suggested, “Send her away because she’s still yelling out back there.”

24 Yeshua answered, “I was only sent to the lost sheep that descended from Israel.”

25 But she came and knelt down in front of him, begging, “Master, help me.”

26 “It’s not good,”, Yeshua responded, “to take the children’s food off them and throw it out to the puppies.”

27 “True, master,” she said, “but even the puppies eat the little crumbs that fall off their masters’ table.”

28 “Oh, woman” Yeshua answered, “you have lots of faith, so what you asked for will become reality.” And so her daughter was healed that very hour.

29 Then Yeshua left that place and after walking along Lake Galilee, he climbed up a hill and sat down. 30 Big crowds came up to him, bringing those who were lame, maimed, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down in front of him and he healed them. 31 The crowds marvelled, seeing people speaking that had been mute, and maimed people now healthy, and lame people walking and the blind now seeing, and they praised Israel’s God.

32 Then Yeshua called his apprentices and told them, “I feel sorry for this crowd because they’ve been out here with me for three days and haven’t had anything to eat, but I’m not happy to just send them away hungry in case they collapse on the way home.”

33 “Out here in the wilderness,” replied his apprentices, “where could we possibly get enough bread to feed a crowd this size?”

34 “How many buns do you have?” asked Yeshua.

“Seven,”, they replied, “and a few small fish.”

35 Then instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven buns and the fish, and gave thanks. Then he broke them and gave the pieces to his apprentices to distribute to the crowds. 37 Everyone ate and when they were full, they collected seven baskets full of the leftover food. 38 There were about four thousand families there.

39 After sending the crowds home, Yeshua got into the boat and they went to the regions of Magadan.