New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
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Then there came to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying,
2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands before they eat."
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Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers? for they take food with unwashed hands.
3 He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
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And in answer he said to them, Why do you, yourselves, go against the word of God on account of the teaching which has been handed down to you?
4 For God said, "Honor your father and your mother,' and, "Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.'
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For God said, Give honour to your father and mother: and, He who says evil of father or mother will be put to death.
5 But you say that whoever tells father or mother, "Whatever support you might have had from me is given to God,' then that person need not honor the father.
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But you say, If a man says to his father or his mother, That by which you might have had profit from me is given to God;
6 So, for the sake of your tradition, you make void the word of God.
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There is no need for him to give honour to his father. And you have made the word of God without effect because of your teaching.
7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied rightly about you when he said:
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You false ones, well did Isaiah say of you,
8 "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;
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These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
9 in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.' "
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But their worship is to no purpose, while they give as their teaching the rules of men.
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said to them, "Listen and understand:
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And he got the people together and said to them, Give ear, and let my words be clear to you:
11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles."
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Not that which goes into the mouth makes a man unclean, but that which comes out of the mouth.
12 Then the disciples approached and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?"
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Then the disciples came and said to him, Did you see that the Pharisees were troubled when these words came to their ears?
13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.
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But he said in answer, Every plant which my Father in heaven has not put in the earth, will be taken up by the roots.
14 Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit."
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Let them be: they are blind guides. And if a blind man is guiding a blind man, the two will go falling into a hole together.
15 But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us."
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Then Peter said to him, Make the story clear to us.
16 Then he said, "Are you also still without understanding?
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And he said, Are you, like them, still without wisdom?
17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?
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Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth goes on into the stomach, and is sent out as waste?
18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.
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But the things which come out of the mouth come from the heart; and they make a man unclean.
19 For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander.
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For out of the heart come evil thoughts, the taking of life, broken faith between the married, unclean desires of the flesh, taking of property, false witness, bitter words:
20 These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile."
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These are the things which make a man unclean; but to take food with unwashed hands does not make a man unclean.
21 Jesus left that place and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon.
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And Jesus went away from there into the country of Tyre and Sidon.
22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."
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And a woman of Canaan came out from those parts, crying and saying, Have pity on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is greatly troubled with an unclean spirit.
23 But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, "Send her away, for she keeps shouting after us."
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But he gave her no answer. And his disciples came and said to him, Send her away, for she is crying after us.
24 He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
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But he made answer and said, I was sent only to the wandering sheep of the house of Israel.
25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
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But she came and gave him worship, saying, Help, Lord.
26 He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."
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And he made answer and said, It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs.
27 She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
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But she said, Yes, Lord: but even the dogs take the bits from under their masters' table.
28 Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed instantly.
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Then Jesus, answering, said to her, O woman, great is your faith: let your desire be done. And her daughter was made well from that hour.
29 After Jesus had left that place, he passed along the Sea of Galilee, and he went up the mountain, where he sat down.
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And Jesus went from there and came to the sea of Galilee; and he went up into the mountain, and took his seat there.
30 Great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the mute, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he cured them,
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And there came to him great numbers of people having with them those who were broken in body, or blind, or without voice, or wounded, or ill in any way, and a number of others; they put them down at his feet and he made them well:
31 so that the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
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So that the people were full of wonder when they saw that those who had no voice were talking, the feeble were made strong, those whose bodies were broken had the power of walking, and the blind were able to see: and they gave glory to the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way."
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And Jesus got his disciples together and said, I have pity for the people, because they have now been with me three days and have no food: and I will not send them away without food, or they will have no strength for the journey.
33 The disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in the desert to feed so great a crowd?"
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And the disciples say to him, How may we get enough bread in a waste place, to give food to such a number of people?
34 Jesus asked them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."
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And Jesus says to them, How much bread have you? And they said, Seven cakes, and some small fishes.
35 Then ordering the crowd to sit down on the ground,
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Then he gave an order to the people to be seated on the earth,
36 he took the seven loaves and the fish; and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
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And he took the seven cakes of bread and the fishes; and having given praise, he gave the broken bread to the disciples, and the disciples gave it to the people.
37 And all of them ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
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And they all took food, and had enough; and they took up of the broken bits, seven baskets full.
38 Those who had eaten were four thousand men, besides women and children.
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And there were four thousand men who took food, together with women and children.
39 After sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
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And when he had sent the people away, he got into the boat, and came into the country of Magadan.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.