2"Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat bread."
3He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God because of your tradition?"
4For God commanded, 'Honour your father and mother,' and, 'Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death.'
5But you say that a man may say to his father or his mother, 'Whatever help you might have had from me is a gift given to God.'
6Then he does not have to honour his father or his mother. So you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.
7You hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you. He said,
8'These people come near to me with their mouth, and honour me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
9"They worship me for nothing, teaching as their doctrines the rules of men.'"
10Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen, and understand."
11"What goes into the mouth does not make a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean."
12Then his disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard what you said?"
13He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots."
14"Leave them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into the ditch."
15Then Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us."
16And Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding?"
17Do you not yet understand? Whatever goes in at the mouth passes into the stomach, and then out of the body.
18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they make a person unclean.
19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies.
20"These are the things that make a person unclean. But to eat with unwashed hands does not make a person unclean."
22Look, a woman of Canaan came out from that region and called to him, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David. My daughter is badly troubled by a demon."
23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling after us."
24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25Then she came and worshipped him, and said, "Lord, help me."
26He answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to dogs."
27And she said, "True, Lord. Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was made well from that very hour.
29Jesus left that place and came near to the sea of Galilee. He went up on a mountain and sat down there.
30Great crowds came to him. They brought with them people who were lame, blind, unable to speak, crippled, and many others. They laid them down at Jesus' feet, and he healed them.
31So the crowd was amazed when they saw those who could not speak now speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they gave glory to the God of Israel.
32Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have stayed with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I will not send them away hungry, in case they faint on the way."
33And his disciples said to him, "Where could we get enough bread in this lonely place to fill such a great crowd?"
34And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few small fish."
35And he told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
36He took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks, and broke them. He gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowd.
37They all ate and were filled. And they picked up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left.
38Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
39Then he sent the crowd away, got into a boat, and came to the region of Magdala.