Mateus 15

¹ None commonly are more bold condemners of God, then they whom God has appointed keepers of his law.Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,

² Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for theyWhich they received handed down from their ancestors, or their elders allowed, who were the governors of the Church.wash not their hands when they eat bread.

³ Their wicked boldness in corrupting the commandments of God (and that upon the pretence of godliness) and usurping authority to make laws, is reproved here.But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?

⁴ For God commanded, saying,By honour is meant every duty which children owe to their parents.Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.

⁵ But ye say,The meaning is this: whatever I bestow upon the temple, is to your profit, for it is as good as if I gave it to you, for (as the Pharisees of our time say) it will be meritorious for you: for under this form of religion, they gathered all to themselves, as though he that had given anything to the temple, had done the duty of a child.Whosoever shall say to [his] father or [his] mother, [It is] a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;

⁶ And honour not his father or his mother, [he shall be free]. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of noneAs much as you could, you destroyed the power and authority of the commandment: for otherwise the commandments of God stand fast in the Church of God, in spite of the world and Satan.effect by your tradition.

⁷ The same men are condemned for hypocrisy and superstition, because they made the kingdom of God to consist of outward things.[Ye] hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,

⁸ This people draweth neere vnto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with the lips, but their heart is farre off from me.

⁹ But in vaine they worship me, teaching for doctrines, mens precepts.

¹⁰ Christ teaches us that the hypocrisy of false teachers who deceive our souls is not to be endured at all, not even in small matters, and there is no reason why their office or position should blind our eyes: otherwise we are likely to perish with them.And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:

¹¹ That which goeth into the mouth, defileth not the man, but that which commeth out of the mouth, that defileth the man.

¹² Then came his disciples, and saide vnto him, Perceiuest thou not, that the Pharises are offended in hearing this saying?

¹³ But hee answered and saide, Euery plant which mine heauenly Father hath not planted, shalbe rooted vp.

¹⁴ Let them alone, they be the blinde leaders of the blinde: and if the blinde leade ye blinde, both shall fall into the ditche.

¹⁵ Then answered Peter, and said to him, Declare vnto vs this parable.

¹⁶ Then said Iesus, Are ye yet without vnderstanding?

¹⁷ Perceiue ye not yet, that whatsoeuer entreth into the mouth, goeth into the bellie, and is cast out into the draught?

¹⁸ But those thinges which proceede out of the mouth, come from the heart, and they defile the man.

¹⁹ For out of the heart come euil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, slaunders.

²⁰ These are the things, which defile the man: but to eat with vnwashen hands, defileth not ye man.

²¹ Then Jesus went thence, and departed into theCoasts which were next to Tyre and Sidon, that is in that region where Palestine faces toward Venice, and the sea of Syria.coasts of Tyre and Sidon.

²² And, behold, a woman ofOf the people of the Canaanites, who dwelt in Phoenicia.Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, [thou] Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

²³ In that Christ sometimes shuts his ears, as it were, to the prayers of his saints, he does it for his glory, and our profit.But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

²⁴ But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of theOf the people of Israel, who were divided into tribes, but all those tribes came from one family.house of Israel.

²⁵ Yet she came, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, helpe me.

²⁶ And he answered, and said, It is not good to take the childrens bread, and to cast it to whelps.

²⁷ But she said, Trueth, Lord: yet in deede the whelpes eate of the crommes, which fall from their masters table.

²⁸ Then Iesus answered, and saide vnto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it to thee, as thou desirest; her daughter was made whole at that houre.

²⁹ Christ does not cease to be beneficial even where he is condemned, and in the midst of wolves he gathers together and cares for his flock.And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.

³⁰ And great multitudes came unto him, having with them [those that were] lame, blind, dumb,Whose members were weakened with paralysis, or by nature, for after it is said that he healed them. Now Christ preferred to heal in this way, that such members as were weak, he restored to health, and yet he could easily, if he had wanted, have given them hands and feet and other members which they lacked.maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:

³¹ In so much that the multitude wondered, to see the dumme speake, the maimed whole, the halt to goe, and the blinde to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

³² By doing this miracle again, Christ shows that he who follows Christ will never be in need, not even in the wilderness.Then Jesus called his disciples [unto him], and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because theyGo not from my side.continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.

³³ And his disciples saide vnto him, Whence should we get so much bread in the wildernes, as should suffice so great a multitude!

³⁴ And Iesus said vnto them, How many loaues haue ye? And they said, Seuen, & a few litle fishes.

³⁵ And he commanded the multitude toLiterally, «to lie down backwards», as rowers do in rowing, when they draw their oars to themselves.sit down on the ground.

³⁶ And tooke the seuen loaues, and the fishes, and gaue thankes, and brake them, and gaue to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

³⁷ And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken [meat] that was left sevenA kind of container made with twigs.baskets full.

³⁸ And they that had eaten, were foure thousand men, beside women, and litle children.

³⁹ Then Iesus sent away the multitude, and tooke ship, and came into the partes of Magdala.