Tradition and Worship
(Matthew 15:1-9)

1And the Pharisees and some of the scribes, having come from Jerusalem, are gathered together to Him. 2And they had seen that some of His disciples are eating the bread with defiled, that is, unwashed hands.

3For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash the hands carefully, holding the tradition of the elders; 4and on coming from the market, they do not eat unless they wash; and there are many other things which they received, for them to hold to—washings of cups and vessels and utensils and couches for dining.a

5And the Pharisees and the scribes questioned Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat the bread with unwashed hands?”

6And He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly concerning you hypocrites, as it has been written:

‘This people honors Me with the lips,

but their heart is kept far away from Me;

7and they worship Me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’b

8Having neglected the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”c

9And He was saying to them, “Neatly do you set aside the commandment of God, that you might keepd your tradition. 10For Moses said, ‘Honor your Father and your mother,’e and, ‘The one speaking evil of father or mother must surely die.’f 11But you say that if a man says to the father or the mother, ‘Whatever you might be profited from me, it is Corban,’ that is, a gift, 12no longer do you permit him to do anything for the father or the mother, 13making void the word of God for your tradition, which you have handed down. And you do many things like such.”

What Defiles a Man
(Matthew 15:10-20)

14And having summoned the crowd again, He was saying to them, “Listen to Me, all, and understand: 15There is nothing from outside the man entering into him which is able to defile him; but the things proceeding out of the man are the things defiling the man.”g

17And when He went into the house from the crowd, His disciples were asking Him the parable.

18And He says to them, “Thus are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything entering into the man from outside is not able to defile him, 19because it does not enter into his heart, but into the belly, and goes out into the sewer?” (Thus purifying all foods.)

20And He was saying, “That going forth out of the man, that defiles the man. 21For from within the heart of men go forth evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries,h 22covetous desires, wickednesses, deceit, sensuality, an evil eye, slander, pride, foolishness. 23All these evils go forth from within, and they defile the man.”

The Faith of the Gentile Woman
(Matthew 15:21-28)

24And from there having risen up, He went away into the region of Tyre.i And having entered into a house, He was wishing no one to know it, but He was not able to be hidden. 25But immediately, having heard about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having come, fell at His feet. 26Now the woman was Gentile, Syrophoenician by race, and kept asking Him that He should cast forth the demon out of her daughter.

27And He was saying to her, “Permit the children to be satisfied first; for it is not good to take the children’s bread and to cast it to the dogs.”

28But she answered and says to Him, “Yes, Lord, even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.”

29And He said to her, “Because of this word, go; the demon has gone forth out of your daughter.” 30And having gone away to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, and the demon having gone out.

The Deaf and Mute Man
(Isaiah 35:1-10; Matthew 9:32-34)

31And again having departed from the region of Tyre, He came through Sidon, to the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the region of the Decapolis.j 32And they bring to Him a man who was deaf and who spoke with difficulty, and they implore Him that He might lay the hand on him.

33And having taken him away from the crowd privately, He put His fingers to his ears, and having spit, He touched his tongue, 34and having looked up to heaven He sighed deeply, and He says to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”). 35And immediately his ears were opened, and the band of his tongue was loosed, and he began speaking plainly.

36And He instructed them that they should tell no one. But as much as He kept instructing them, they were proclaiming it more abundantly. 37And they were astonished above measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”