Matthew 15:17-27

17 Do you not see that ¹whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^[a]

18 But ²what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.

19 For out of the heart come ³evil thoughts, ⁴murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ⁵slander.

20 ⁶These are what defile a person. But ⁷to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

21 ⁸And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

22 And behold, ⁹a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ¹⁰"Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon."

23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ¹¹"Send her away, for she is crying out after us."

24 He answered, ¹²"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

25 But she came and ¹³knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."

26 And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and ¹⁴throw it to the dogs."

27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ¹⁵the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

Cross References

• 1. [1 Corinthians 6:13]
• 2. Matthew 12:34; James 3:6
• 3. James 2:4
• 4. Matthew 5:22, 28; See Exodus 20:13-16
• 5. Ephesians 4:31; Colossians 3:8; 1 Timothy 6:4
• 6. 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10
• 7. Mark 7:2, 5
• 8. For ver. 21-28, see Mark 7:24-30
• 9. Genesis 10:15, 19; Judges 1:30-33
• 10. See Matthew 9:27
• 11. [Matthew 14:15]
• 12. Romans 15:8; See Matthew 10:5, 6
• 13. See Matthew 8:2
• 14. Matthew 7:6
• 15. [Luke 16:21]

Footnotes

• [a]. Greek is expelled into the latrine