1Then the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem approached Jesus saying:

2“Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands whenever they eat bread.”

3So in answer He said to them: “Why do you even transgress the commandment of God through your tradition?

4For God commanded saying, ²³⁴‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’

5But you say: ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever you might be profited by me is a gift to God”—

6then he must not honor his father or mother.’ ²³⁵Thus you have nullified the commandment of God through your tradition.

7Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you saying:

8‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, ²³⁶
but their heart is far away from Me.

9But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ” ²³⁷

That which defiles

10Then summoning the crowd He said to them: “Hear and understand.

11Not what goes into the mouth defiles the man, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles the man.”

12Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do you know that upon hearing this saying the Pharisees were offended?”

13But in answer He said: “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.

14Leave them alone. ²³⁸They are blind guides of the blind; and if the blind guides the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

15Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

16So Jesus said: “Are you also still without understanding?

17Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is expelled into the sewer?

18But the things coming out of the mouth actually come from the heart; those are the things that defile the man.

19Because out of the heart proceed malignant thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, ²³⁹thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

20These are the things that defile the man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

A crumb for a little dog

21Going out from there Jesus withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.

22And then, a Canaanite woman coming from those parts cried out to Him saying: “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demonized.”

23But He answered her not a word. ²⁴⁰So His disciples came and urged Him saying, “Send her away, because she is crying out after us.”

24But in answer He said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁴¹

25So she came and worshiped Him saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁴²

26But in answer He said, “It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.”

27So she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” ²⁴³

28Then Jesus answered and said to her: “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Food for 4,000 men

29Moving on from there, Jesus went alongside the Sea of Galilee, and going up on the mountain He sat down there.

30And large crowds approached Him, having with them lame, blind, mute, maimed and many others, and they placed them at Jesus' feet, and He healed them.

31So the crowds marveled—seeing mutes speaking, maimed made whole, lame walking, and blind seeing—and they kept glorifying the God of Israel.

32Then Jesus summoned His disciples and said: “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already remained with me three days, and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.”

33So His disciples say to Him, “Where could we get, in an uninhabited place, enough bread so as to satisfy such a great crowd?”

34Jesus says to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

35So He commanded the crowds to recline on the ground.

36And taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks, broke and gave to His disciples, and the disciples to the crowd.

37So they all ate and were filled; and they took up seven hampers full of the fragments that remained. ²⁴⁴

38Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ²⁴⁵

39And having dismissed the crowds He got into the boat and went to the region of Magdala. ²⁴⁶