Bible Reading Plan

Matthew 15

Chapter 15

The Tradition of the Elders

¹ Then^(a) Pharisees and scribes came from Jerusalem to Jesus and asked,^{(b) 2} "Why do Your disciples^(c) break the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat!"^[a](d)

³ He answered them, "And why do you break God's commandment because of your tradition? ⁴ For God said: ^[b]

⁵ But you say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother, "Whatever benefit you might have received from me is a gift committed to the temple"— ⁶ he does not have to honor his father.'^[e] In this way, you have revoked God's word^[f] because of your tradition. ⁷ Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said:

Defilement Is from Within

¹⁰ Summoning the crowd, He told them, "Listen and understand: ¹¹ It's not what goes into the mouth that defiles^(h) a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." ⁽ⁱ⁾

¹² Then the disciples came up and told Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard this statement?"

¹³ He replied, "Every plant that My heavenly Father didn't plant will be uprooted.^{(j) 14} Leave them alone! They are blind guides.^[i] And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit." ^(k)

¹⁵ Then Peter replied to Him, "Explain this parable to us."^(l)

¹⁶ "Are even you still lacking in understanding?" He^[j] asked. ¹⁷ "Don't you realize^[k] that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?^{[l] 18} But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man.^{(m) 19} For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies,⁽ⁿ⁾ blasphemies.^{(o) 20} These are the things that defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a man." ^(p)

A Gentile Mother's Faith

²¹ When Jesus left there,^(q) He withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.^{(r) 22} Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out,^[m] "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly tormented by a demon."^(s)

²³ Yet He did not say a word to her. So His disciples^(t) approached Him and urged Him, "Send her away because she cries out after us."^[n]

²⁴ He replied, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." ^(u)

²⁵ But she came, knelt before Him, and said, "Lord, help me!"

²⁶ He answered, "It isn't right to take the children's bread and throw it to their dogs." ^(v)

²⁷ "Yes, Lord," she said, "yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table!"

²⁸ Then Jesus replied to her, "Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want." And from that moment^[o] her daughter was cured.^(w)

Healing Many People

²⁹ Moving on from there,^(x) Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee.^(y) He went up on a mountain and sat there, ³⁰ and large crowds came to Him, having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at His feet, and He healed them. ³¹ So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the deformed restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing.^(z) And they gave glory to the God of Israel.

Feeding 4,000

³² Now Jesus summoned His disciples and said,^(aa) "I have compassion on the crowd, because they've already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry; otherwise they might collapse on the way."

³³ The disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place^(ab) to fill such a crowd?"

³⁴ "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked them.

"Seven," they said, "and a few small fish."

³⁵ After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶ He took the seven loaves and the fish, and He gave thanks, broke them, and kept on giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.^{(ac) 37} They all ate and were filled. Then they collected the leftover pieces—seven large baskets full. ³⁸ Now those who ate were 4,000 men, besides women and children. ³⁹ After dismissing the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.^[p](ad)

Mark 7

Chapter 7

The Traditions of the Elders

¹ The^(a) Pharisees^(b) and some of the scribes^(c) who had come from Jerusalem^(d) gathered around Him. ² They observed that some of His disciples were eating their bread with unclean^(e)—that is, unwashed—hands. ³ (For the Pharisees, in fact all the Jews, will not eat unless they wash their hands ritually, keeping the tradition of the elders. ⁴ When they come from the marketplace,^(f) they do not eat unless they have washed.^(g) And there are many other customs they have received and keep, like the washing of cups, jugs, copper utensils, and dining couches.^[a](h)) ⁵ Then the Pharisees⁽ⁱ⁾ and the scribes^(j) asked Him, "Why don't Your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders,^(k) instead of eating bread with ritually unclean^[b] hands?"

⁶ He answered them, "Isaiah^(l) prophesied^(m) correctly about you hypocrites,⁽ⁿ⁾ as it is written: ^(o)

⁸ Disregarding the command of God, you keep the tradition of men." ^{[d] 9} He also said to them, "You completely invalidate God's command in order to maintain^[e] your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses^(u) said:

¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or mother: Whatever benefit^(x) you might have received from me is Corban'" (that is, a gift^(y) committed to the temple), ¹² "you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. ¹³ You revoke God's word^(z) by your tradition that you have handed^(aa) down. And you do many other similar things." ¹⁴ Summoning^(ab) the crowd again, He told them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:^{(ac) 15} Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. [¹⁶ If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen!]" ^[h]

¹⁷ When He went into the house away from the crowd, the disciples asked Him about the parable. ¹⁸ And He said to them, "Are you also as lacking in understanding? Don't you realize that nothing going into a man from the outside can defile him? ¹⁹ For it doesn't go into his heart but into the stomach^(ad) and is eliminated." ^[i] (As a result, He made all foods clean.^[j](ae)) ²⁰ Then He said, "What comes out of a person—that defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of people's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities,^(af) thefts, murders,^{(ag) 22} adulteries,^(ah) greed,^(ai) evil actions, deceit,^(aj) promiscuity,^(ak) stinginess,^[k] blasphemy,^(al) pride,^(am) and foolishness.^{(an) 23} All these evil things come from within and defile a person."

A Gentile Mother's Faith

²⁴ He got up and departed from^(ao) there to the region of Tyre^(ap) and Sidon.^[l](aq) He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, but He could not escape notice. ²⁵ Instead, immediately after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit^(ar) came and fell at His feet.^{(as) 26} Now the woman was Greek,^(at) a Syrophoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to drive the demon^(au) out of her daughter. ²⁷ He said to her, "Allow the children to be satisfied first, because it isn't right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." ^(av)

²⁸ But she replied to Him, "Lord,^(aw) even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

²⁹ Then He told her, "Because of this reply, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter." ³⁰ When she went back to her home, she found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.

Jesus Does Everything Well

³¹ Again, leaving the region of Tyre,^(ax) He went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,^(ay) through^[m] the region of the Decapolis.^{(az) 32} They brought to Him a deaf^(ba) man who also had a speech difficulty,^(bb) and begged Jesus to lay His hand on^(bc) him. ³³ So He took him away from the crowd privately. After putting His fingers in the man's ears and spitting,^(bd) He touched his tongue. ³⁴ Then, looking up to heaven,^(be) He sighed deeply and said to him, "Ephphatha!" ^[n] (that is, "Be opened!" ). ³⁵ Immediately his ears were opened,^(bf) his speech difficulty was removed,^[o] and he began to speak clearly.^{(bg) 36} Then He ordered them to tell no one,^(bh) but the more He would order them, the more they would proclaim^(bi) it.

³⁷ They were extremely astonished and said, "He has done everything well!^(bj) He even makes deaf^(bk) people hear, and people unable to speak,^(bl) talk!"