傳統與誡命
1有幾個法利賽人和律法教師從耶路撒冷來質問耶穌： 2「為什麼你的門徒吃飯前不行洗手禮，破壞祖先的傳統呢？」
3耶穌回答說：「為什麼你們拘守傳統而違背上帝的誡命呢？ 4上帝說，『要孝敬父母』，又說，『咒罵父母的，必被處死。』 5你們卻說，『人如果把供養父母的錢奉獻給上帝， 6他就不必供養父母。』你們這是用傳統來廢掉上帝的誡命。 7你們這些偽君子，以賽亞指著你們說的預言一點沒錯，
8『這些人嘴上尊崇我，
心卻遠離我，
9他們的教導無非是人的規條，
他們敬拜我也是枉然。』」
10耶穌召集了眾人，對他們說：「你們要聽，也要明白。 11入口的東西不會使人污穢，從口中出來的才會使人污穢。」
12門徒上前對祂說：「你知道嗎？法利賽人聽見你的話很反感。」
13耶穌回答說：「凡不是我天父栽種的都要被連根拔起來。 14隨便他們吧！他們是瞎眼的嚮導。瞎子給瞎子領路，二人都會掉進坑裡。」
15彼得對耶穌說：「請給我們解釋一下這個比喻。」
16耶穌說：「你們還不明白嗎？ 17豈不知入口的東西都是進到肚子裡，然後排泄到廁所裡嗎？ 18可是，從口中出來的乃是發自內心，會使人污穢。 19因為從心裡出來的有惡念、謀殺、通姦、淫亂、偷盜、假見證和毀謗， 20這些東西才使人污穢。不洗手吃飯並不會使人污穢。」
迦南婦人的信心
21耶穌從那裡退到泰爾和西頓境內。 22那地方有個迦南的婦人前來大聲懇求耶穌：「主啊！大衛的後裔啊！可憐我吧！我的女兒被鬼附身，受盡折磨！」 23耶穌卻一言不發。門徒上前求祂說：「請讓她走吧！她老是在後面喊叫。」
24耶穌說：「我奉差遣只是來尋找以色列家迷失的羊。」
25那婦人上前跪下，說：「主啊！求你幫幫我吧！」
26耶穌答道：「把兒女的食物丟給狗吃，不合適。」
27婦人說：「主啊，沒錯，可是狗也吃主人飯桌上掉下來的碎渣呀！」
28耶穌說：「婦人，你的信心真大！我答應你的要求。」就在那一刻，她女兒就好了。
耶穌使四千人吃飽
29耶穌離開那裡，來到加利利湖邊，上了山，在那裡坐下。 30大群的人把瘸子、瞎子、殘疾的、啞巴及許多別的病人帶來，放在祂腳前，祂就治好了他們。 31大家看見啞巴說話，殘疾的復原，瘸子走路，瞎子看見，都很驚奇，就讚美以色列的上帝。
32耶穌把門徒召集過來，對他們說：「我憐憫這些人，他們跟我在一起已經三天，沒有任何吃的。我不願讓他們餓著肚子回去，以免他們在路上體力不支。」
33門徒說：「在這荒野，我們到哪裡找足夠的食物給這麼多人吃呢？」
34耶穌問：「你們有多少餅？」
門徒答道：「七個，還有幾條小魚。」
35耶穌便吩咐大家坐在地上。 36祂拿著那七個餅和幾條魚祝謝後，掰開，遞給門徒，門徒再分給大家。 37大家都吃了，並且吃飽了，剩下的零碎裝滿了七個筐子。 38當時吃飯的，除了婦女和小孩，共有四千男人。 39隨後，耶穌叫眾人散去，自己坐船去了馬加丹地區。
What Makes People “Unclean”?
1Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked, 2“Why don’t your disciples obey what the elders teach? Your disciples don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3Jesus replied, “And why don’t you obey God’s command? You would rather follow your own teachings! 4God said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’ (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16) He also said, ‘Anyone who asks for bad things to happen to their father or mother must be put to death.’ (Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9) 5But suppose people have something that might be used to help their parents. You allow them to say it is instead ‘a gift set apart for God.’ 6So they do not need to honor their father or mother with their gift. You make the word of God useless in order to follow your own teachings. 7You pretenders! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. He said,
8“ ‘These people honor me by what they say.
But their hearts are far away from me.
9Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me.
They teach nothing but human rules.’ ” (Isaiah 29:13)
10Jesus called the crowd to him. He said, “Listen and understand. 11What goes into someone’s mouth does not make them ‘unclean.’ It’s what comes out of their mouth that makes them ‘unclean.’ ”
12Then the disciples came to him. They asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were angry when they heard this?”
13Jesus replied, “They are plants that my Father in heaven has not planted. They will be pulled up by the roots. 14Leave the Pharisees. They are blind guides. If one blind person leads another blind person, both of them will fall into a pit.”
15Peter said, “Explain this to us.”
16“Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked them. 17“Don’t you see? Everything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body. 18But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart. Those are the things that make someone ‘unclean.’ 19Evil thoughts come out of a person’s heart. So do murder, adultery, and other sexual sins. And so do stealing, false witness, and telling lies about others. 20Those are the things that make you ‘unclean.’ But eating without washing your hands does not make you ‘unclean.’ ”
The Faith of a Woman From Canaan
21Jesus left Galilee and went to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22A woman from Canaan lived near Tyre and Sidon. She came to him and cried out, “Lord! Son of David! Have mercy on me! A demon controls my daughter. She is suffering terribly.”
23Jesus did not say a word. So his disciples came to him. They begged him, “Send her away. She keeps crying out after us.”
24Jesus answered, “I was sent only to the people of Israel. They are like lost sheep.”
25Then the woman fell to her knees in front of him. “Lord! Help me!” she said.
26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
27“Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their owner’s table.”
28Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! You will be given what you are asking for.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand
29Jesus left there. He walked along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30Large crowds came to him. They brought blind people and those who could not walk. They also brought disabled people, those who could not speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. 31The people were amazed. Those who could not speak were speaking. The disabled were made well. Those not able to walk were walking. Those who were blind could see. So the people praised the God of Israel.
32Then Jesus called for his disciples to come to him. He said, “I feel deep concern for these people. They have already been with me three days. They don’t have anything to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry. If I do, they will become too weak on their way home.”
33His disciples answered him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “Where could we get enough bread to feed this large crowd?”
34“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35Jesus told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks. Then he broke them and gave them to the disciples. And the disciples passed them out to the people. 37All of them ate and were satisfied. After that, the disciples picked up seven baskets of leftover pieces. 38The number of men who ate was 4,000. Women and children also ate. 39After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat. He went to the area near Magadan.
