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some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? 2 For they do not wash their hands before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said: ‘Honour your father and mother’, and, ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death’. 5 But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever support you might have otherwise received from me is given as a gift devoted to God”— 6 then he does not have to honour his father or mother with it’. So for the sake of your tradition you have nullified the Word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said:
8 ‘These people honour Me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from Me.
9 They worship Me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the rules of men’.”
10 Jesus called the crowd to Him, and He said to them, “Listen and understand: 11 It is not what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
12 Then His disciples came to Him and said, “Do you know the Pharisees were offended when they heard what You said?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 So Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
21 When Jesus left that place, He withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region approached Him and she kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon.”
23 But Jesus did not answer her a word. So His disciples drew near and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 But the woman came and knelt before Him, and said, “Lord, help me.”
26 But He answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to their dogs.”
27 “Yes Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
29 Jesus left there, and He passed along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Large crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others. They laid them at His feet, and He healed them. 31 The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for these people, because they have already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
33 His disciples said to Him, “Where are we to get enough bread in the wilderness to feed such a crowd?”
34 Jesus asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35 He told the crowd to sit on the ground, 36 then He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples collected up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Now the number of those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, He got into a boat and went to the region of Magadan.