Matthew 15:1-26

Breaking Human Traditions

15:1 Then Pharisees ¹  and experts in the law ²  came from Jerusalem ³  to Jesus and said, ⁴  15:2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their ⁵  hands when they eat.” ⁶  15:3 He answered them, ⁷  “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 15:4 For God said, ⁸  ‘Honor your father and mother’ ⁹  and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹⁰  15:5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” ¹¹  15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ¹²  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. 15:7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,

15:8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart ¹³  is far from me,

15:9 and they worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” ¹⁴ 

True Defilement

15:10 Then he called the crowd to him and said, ¹⁵  “Listen and understand. 15:11 What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what ¹⁶  comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.” 15:12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees ¹⁷  heard this saying they were offended?” 15:13 And he replied, ¹⁸  “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 15:14 Leave them! They are blind guides. ¹⁹  If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, ²⁰  both will fall into a pit.” 15:15 But Peter ²¹  said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 15:16 Jesus ²²  said, “Even after all this, are you still so foolish? 15:17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer? ²³  15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. 15:19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 15:20 These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person.” ²⁴ 

A Canaanite Woman’s Faith

15:21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre ²⁵  and Sidon. ²⁶  15:22 A ²⁷  Canaanite woman from that area came ²⁸  and cried out, ²⁹  “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!” 15:23 But he did not answer her a word. Then ³⁰  his disciples came and begged him, ³¹  “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.” 15:24 So ³²  he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 15:25 But she came and bowed down ³³  before him and said, ³⁴  “Lord, help me!” 15:26 “It is not right ³⁵  to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” ³⁶  he said. ³⁷ 

¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

² tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

³ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁴ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb so that its telic (i.e., final or conclusive) force can be more easily detected: The Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus in order to speak with him.

⁵ tc ‡ Although most witnesses read the genitive plural pronoun αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”), it may have been motivated by clarification (as it is in the translation above). Several other authorities do not have the pronoun, however (א B Δ 073 ˹ 579 700 892 1424 pc f g¹); the lack of an unintentional oversight as the reason for omission strengthens their combined testimony in this shorter reading. NA²⁷ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

⁶ tn Grk “when they eat bread.”

⁷ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”

⁸ tc Most mss (א*^,2 C L W 0106 33 Ï) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, Jo gar qeo" eneteilato legwn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א¹ B D Θ 073 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 pc lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).

⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

¹¹ tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

¹² tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

¹³ tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.

¹⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 29:13.

¹⁵ tn Grk “And calling the crowd, he said to them.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as attendant circumstance. The emphasis here is upon Jesus’ speaking to the crowd.

¹⁶ tn Grk “but what.”

¹⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

¹⁸ tn Grk “And answering, he said.”

¹⁹ tc ‡ Most mss, some of which are significant, read “They are blind guides of the blind” (א¹ C L W Z Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). The shorter reading is read by א*^,2 B D 0237 Epiph. There is a distinct possibility of omission due to homoioarcton in א*; this manuscript has a word order variation which puts the word τυφλοί (tufloi, “blind”) right before the word τυφλῶν (tuflwn, “of the blind”). This does not explain the shorter reading, however, in the other witnesses, of which B and D are quite weighty. Internal considerations suggest that the shorter reading is original: “of the blind” was likely added by scribes to balance this phrase with Jesus’ following statement about the blind leading the blind, which clearly has two groups in view. A decision is difficult, but internal considerations here along with the strength of the witnesses argue that the shorter reading is more likely original. NA²⁷ places τυφλῶν in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

²⁰ tn Grk “If blind leads blind.”

²¹ tn Grk “And answering, Peter said to him.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²³ tn Or “into the latrine.”

²⁴ tn Grk “but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

²⁵ map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

²⁶ map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

²⁷ tn Grk “And behold a Canaanite.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

²⁸ tn Grk The participle ἐξελθοῦσα (exelqousa) is here translated as a finite verb. The emphasis is upon her crying out to Jesus.

²⁹ tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”

³¹ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.

³² tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The construction in Greek is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the disciples’ request.

³³ tn In this context the verb προσκυνέω (proskunew), which often describes worship, probably means simply bowing down to the ground in an act of reverence or supplication (see L&N 17.21).

³⁴ tn Grk “she bowed down to him, saying.”

³⁵ tn Grk “And answering, he said, ‘It is not right.’” The introductory phrase “answering, he said” has been simplified and placed at the end of the English sentence for stylistic reasons. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³⁶ tn Or “lap dogs, house dogs,” as opposed to dogs on the street. The diminutive form originally referred to puppies or little dogs, then to house pets. In some Hellenistic uses κυνάριον (kunarion) simply means “dog.”

³⁷ tn Grk “And answering, he said.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.