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Matthew 15
International Children’s Bible
Matthew 15
International Children’s Bible
Obey God’s Law Not Men’s
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem. They asked him, 2 “Why do your followers not obey the rules given to us by the great people who lived before us? Your followers don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus answered, “And why do you refuse to obey God’s command so that you can follow those rules you have? 4 God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’[a] And God also said, ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ 6 You teach that person not to honor his father. You teach that it is not important to do what God said. You think that it is more important to follow the rules you have. 7 You are hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke about you:
8 ‘These people show honor to me with words.
But their hearts are far from me.
9 Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing
but human rules they have memorized.’” Isaiah 29:13
10 Jesus called the crowd to him. He said, “Listen and understand what I am saying. 11 It is not what a person puts into his mouth that makes him unclean. It is what comes out of his mouth that makes him unclean.”
12 Then his followers came to Jesus and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees are angry because of what you said?”
13 Jesus answered, “Every plant that my Father in heaven has not planted himself will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Stay away from the Pharisees. They are blind leaders.[c] And if a blind man leads another blind man, then both men will fall into a ditch.”
15 Peter said, “Explain the story to us.”
16 Jesus said, “You still have trouble understanding? 17 Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then that food goes out of the body. 18 But what a person says with his mouth comes from the way he thinks. And these are the things that make him unclean. 19 Out of the mind come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, lying, and saying bad things against other people. 20 These things make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean.”
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman
21 Jesus left that place and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that area came to Jesus. The woman cried out, “Lord, Son of David, please help me! My daughter has a demon, and she is suffering very much.”
23 But Jesus did not answer the woman. So the followers came to Jesus and begged him, “Tell the woman to go away. She is following us and shouting.”
24 Jesus answered, “God sent me only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.”
25 Then the woman came to Jesus again. She bowed before him and said, “Lord, help me!”
26 Jesus answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs.”
27 The woman said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the pieces of food that fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! I will do what you asked me to do.” And at that moment the woman’s daughter was healed.
Jesus Heals Many People
29 Then Jesus left that place and went to the shore of Lake Galilee. He went up on a hill and sat there.
30 Great crowds came to Jesus. They brought their sick with them: the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb and many others. They put them at Jesus’ feet, and he healed them. 31 The crowd was amazed when they saw that people who could not speak were able to speak again. The crippled were made strong again. Those who could not walk were able to walk again. The blind were able to see again. And they praised the God of Israel for this.
More Than 4,000 People Fed
32 Jesus called his followers to him and said, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been with me three days, and now they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. They might faint while going home.”
33 His followers asked him, “Where can we get enough bread to feed all these people? We are far away from any town.”
34 Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “We have seven loaves and a few small fish.”
35 Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. 36 He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish and gave thanks to God for the food. Then Jesus divided the food and gave it to his followers. They gave the food to the people. 37 All the people ate and were satisfied. After this, the followers filled seven baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. 38 There were about 4,000 men there who ate, besides women and children. 39 After they ate, Jesus told the people to go home. He got into the boat and went to the area of Magadan.
Footnotes
- 15:4 ‘Honor . . . mother.’ Quotation from Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16.
- 15:4 ‘Anyone . . . death.’ Quotation from Exodus 21:17.
- 15:14 leaders Some Greek copies continue, “of blind people.”
Matthew 15
New International Version
Matthew 15
New International Version
That Which Defiles(A)
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”(B)
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a](C) and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b](D) 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.(E)’[c](F)”
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them,(G) but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”(H)
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted(I) will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides.[d](J) If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”(K)
15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”(L)
16 “Are you still so dull?”(M) Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart,(N) and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.(O) 20 These are what defile a person;(P) but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman(Q)
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.(R) 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David,(S) have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”(T)
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”(U)
25 The woman came and knelt before him.(V) “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith!(W) Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand(X)(Y)(Z)
29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.(AA) 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.(AB)
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people;(AC) they have already been 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 answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them(AD) and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.(AE) 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
Footnotes
- Matthew 15:4 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
- Matthew 15:4 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
- Matthew 15:9 Isaiah 29:13
- Matthew 15:14 Some manuscripts blind guides of the blind
International Children’s Bible (ICB) 
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.