Traditions and Commandments

1 ^mThen Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the ⁿtradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ^o‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^p‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”¹ 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word² of God. 7 You hypocrites! ^qWell did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

What Defiles a Person

10 ^tAnd he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 ^uit is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, ^vbut what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every ^wplant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be ^xrooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are ^yblind guides.³ And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, ^z“Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?⁴ 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 ^aFor out of the ^bheart come evil thoughts, ^cmurder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 ^dAnd ^eJesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, ^fSon of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” 23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the ^glost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ^hthrow it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the ⁱcrumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you ^jas you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.⁵

Jesus Heals Many

29 Jesus went on from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the ^klame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the crowd ^lwondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they ^mglorified the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 ⁿThen Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have ^ocompassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” 33 And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” 34 And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ^pate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

1 ^qAnd the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them,⁶ “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 ^rAn evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except ^sthe sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

5 ^tWhen the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^ubeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, ^v“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 ^wDo you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and ^xhow many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and ^yhow many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 ^zNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say ^aJohn the Baptist, others say ^bElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the ^cprophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, ^d“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^ebut my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and ^fon this ^grock⁷ I will ^hbuild my church, and the ⁱgates of hell⁸ shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the ^jkeys of the kingdom of heaven, and ^kwhatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed⁹ in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 ^lFrom that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the ^mthird day be raised. 22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!¹⁰ This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, ⁿ“Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance¹¹ to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 ^oThen Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and ^ptake up his cross and ^qfollow me. 25 ^rFor whoever would save his life¹² will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he ^sgains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to ^tcome with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person ^uaccording to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are ^vsome standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Traditions and Commandments

1 ^yNow when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^zdefiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,¹ holding to the ^atradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.² And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the ^bwashing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.³) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, ^c“Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ^f‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^g‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)⁴— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

14 ^hAnd he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 ⁱThere is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, ^jbut the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”⁵ 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, ^k“Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”⁶ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 ^lFor from within, out of the ^mheart of man, come evil thoughts, ⁿsexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

24 ^oAnd ^pfrom there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.⁷ And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed ^qfirst, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and ^rthrow it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s ^scrumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And ^ttaking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after ^uspitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he ^vsighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his ^wtongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus^{8 x}charged them to tell no one. ^yBut the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished ^zbeyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the ^adeaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

1 ^bIn those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have ^ccompassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ^date and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.⁹

The Pharisees Demand a Sign

11 ^eThe Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ^f“Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to ^gthis generation.” 13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

14 ^hNow they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; ⁱbeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”¹⁰ 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? ^jDo you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts ^khardened? 18 ^lHaving eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, ^mhow many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, ⁿhow many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a ^oblind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had ^pspit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus¹¹ laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, ^q“Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

27 ^rAnd Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, ^s“John the Baptist; and others say, ^tElijah; and others, one of the ^uprophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, ^v“You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

31 ^wAnd he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be ^xrejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after ^ythree days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ^z“Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

34 ^aAnd calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and ^btake up his cross and ^cfollow me. 35 ^dFor whoever would save his life¹² will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the ^egospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to ^fgain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ^gashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he ^hcomes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

1 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are ⁱsome standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

18 ^uNow it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, ^v“The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

21 ^wAnd he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to ^xno one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be ^yrejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the ^zthird day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

23 ^aAnd he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and ^btake up his cross ^cdaily and ^dfollow me. 24 ^eFor whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he ^fgains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ^gashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he ^hcomes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truly, there are ⁱsome standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”