CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Matthew 15 NLT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/matthew/15.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/matthew/15-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NLT</a> > Matthew 15</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../matthew/14.htm" title="Matthew 14">◄</a> Matthew 15 <a href="../matthew/16.htm" title="Matthew 16">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Living Translation</td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/p/nlt/esv/matthew/15.shtml" style="color:#001320" title="Parallel Chapters"> Par ▾ </a></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><p class="hdg">Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity</p><p class="reg"><span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus. They asked him, <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>“Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>Jesus replied, <span class="red">“And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span><span class="red">For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and mother,’<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">a</span></a> and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">b</span></a></span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span><span class="red">But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span><span class="red">In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents.<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">c</span></a> And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span><span class="red">You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote,</span></p><p class="b"/><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span><span class="red">‘These people honor me with their lips,</span></p><p class="line2"><span class="red">but their hearts are far from me.</span></p><p class="line1"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span><span class="red">Their worship is a farce,</span></p><p class="line2"><span class="red">for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">d</span></a>”</span></p><p class="b"/><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. <span class="red">“Listen,”</span> he said, <span class="red">“and try to understand.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span><span class="red">It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”</span></p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>Jesus replied, <span class="red">“Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted,</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span><span class="red">so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch.”</span></p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>Then Peter said to Jesus, “Explain to us the parable that says people aren’t defiled by what they eat.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span><span class="red">“Don’t you understand yet?”</span> Jesus asked. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span><span class="red">“Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span><span class="red">But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span><span class="red">For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.</span> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span><span class="red">These are what defile you. Eating with unwashed hands will never defile you.”</span></p><p class="hdg">The Faith of a Gentile Woman</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>A Gentile<a href="#footnotes"><span class="fn">e</span></a> woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>Then Jesus said to the woman, <span class="red">“I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”</span></p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>Jesus responded, <span class="red">“It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.”</span></p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span><span class="red">“Dear woman,”</span> Jesus said to her, <span class="red">“your faith is great. Your request is granted.”</span> And her daughter was instantly healed.</p><p class="hdg">Jesus Heals Many People</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking, and the blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel.</p><p class="hdg">Jesus Feeds Four Thousand</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>Then Jesus called his disciples and told them, <span class="red">“I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, or they will faint along the way.”</span></p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>The disciples replied, “Where would we get enough food here in the wilderness for such a huge crowd?”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>Jesus asked, <span class="red">“How much bread do you have?”</span></p><p class="reg">They replied, “Seven loaves, and a few small fish.”</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to the disciples, who distributed the food to the crowd.</p><p class="reg"> <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>They all ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>There were 4,000 men who were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children. <span class="reftext"><a href="http://biblehub.com/matthew/15-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>Then Jesus sent the people home, and he got into a boat and crossed over to the region of Magadan.</p><A name="footnotes"></a><hr size="1" color="DDEEFF"><span class="mainfootnotes"><span class="mainfootnoteshdg">Footnotes:</span><br><span class="fn">a</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">15:4a </span><span class="ft">Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.</span><br><span class="fn">b</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">15:4b </span><span class="ft">Exod 21:17 (Greek version); Lev 20:9 (Greek version).</span><br><span class="fn">c</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">15:6 </span><span class="ft">Greek </span><span class="it">their father;</span><span class="ft"> other manuscripts read </span><span class="it">their father or their mother.</span><br><span class="fn">d</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">15:8-9 </span><span class="ft">Isa 29:13 (Greek version).</span><br><span class="fn">e</span><note caller="+" style="f"><span class="fr">15:22 </span><span class="ft">Greek </span><span class="it">Canaanite.</span><br></span></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center"><em>Holy Bible</em>, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of <a href="http://www.tyndale.com">Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.</a>, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../matthew/14.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Matthew 14"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Matthew 14" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../matthew/16.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Matthew 16"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Matthew 16" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpc/matthew/15-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhchap.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>