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Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying,
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“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”
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He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?
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For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’
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But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,”
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he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition.
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You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
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‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
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And they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’”
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He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand.
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That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
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Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
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But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.
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Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
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Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”
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So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand?
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Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body?
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But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.
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For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
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These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”
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Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.
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Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”
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But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”
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But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
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But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
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But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
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But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
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Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
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Jesus departed from there and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up on the mountain and sat there.
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Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them,
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so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.
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Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”
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The disciples said to him, “Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”
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Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”
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He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground;
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and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes.
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They all ate and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over.
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Those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children.
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Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.