Matthew

The Tradition of the Elders

1Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,

2“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

3Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

4For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

5But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’

6he need not honor his father or mother with it.Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

7You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:

8‘These people honor Me with their lips,but their hearts are far from Me.

9They worship Me in vain;they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

What Defiles a Man

10Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.

11A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

12Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

13But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.

14Disregard them! They are blind guides.If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

15Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

16“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.

17“Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?

18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.

19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

20These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

22And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

23But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

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

25The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

26But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogseat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

28“O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

29Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.

30Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.

31The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

32Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”

33The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”

34“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

35And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.

36Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

37They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

38A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children.

39After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

古人的傳統

1那時，有法利賽人和文士從耶路撒冷來見耶穌，說：

2「你的門徒為甚麼犯古人的遺傳呢？因為吃飯的時候，他們不洗手。」

3耶穌回答說：「你們為甚麼因着你們的遺傳犯上帝的誡命呢？

4上帝說：『當孝敬父母』；又說：『咒罵父母的，必治死他。』

5你們倒說：『無論何人對父母說：我所當奉給你的已經作了供獻，

6他就可以不孝敬父母。』這就是你們藉着遺傳，廢了上帝的誡命。

7假冒為善的人哪，以賽亞指着你們說的預言是不錯的。他說：

8這百姓用嘴唇尊敬我， 心卻遠離我；

9他們將人的吩咐當作道理教導人， 所以拜我也是枉然。」

10耶穌就叫了眾人來，對他們說：「你們要聽，也要明白。

11入口的不能污穢人，出口的乃能污穢人。」

12當時，門徒進前來對他說：「法利賽人聽見這話，不服，你知道嗎？」

13耶穌回答說：「凡栽種的物，若不是我天父栽種的，必要拔出來。

14任憑他們吧！他們是瞎眼領路的；若是瞎子領瞎子，兩個人都要掉在坑裏。」

15彼得對耶穌說：「請將這比喻講給我們聽。」

16耶穌說：「你們到如今還不明白嗎？

17豈不知凡入口的，是運到肚子裏，又落在茅廁裏嗎？

18惟獨出口的，是從心裏發出來的，這才污穢人。

19因為從心裏發出來的，有惡念、凶殺、姦淫、苟合、偷盜、妄證、謗讟。

20這都是污穢人的；至於不洗手吃飯，那卻不污穢人。」

迦南婦人的信心

21耶穌離開那裏，退到泰爾、西頓的境內去。

22有一個迦南婦人，從那地方出來，喊着說：「主啊，大衛的子孫，可憐我！我女兒被鬼附得甚苦。」

23耶穌卻一言不答。門徒進前來，求他說：「這婦人在我們後頭喊叫，請打發她走吧。」

24耶穌說：「我奉差遣不過是到以色列家迷失的羊那裏去。」

25那婦人來拜他，說：「主啊，幫助我！」

26他回答說：「不好拿兒女的餅丟給狗吃。」

27婦人說：「主啊，不錯；但是狗也吃牠主人桌子上掉下來的碎渣兒。」

28耶穌說：「婦人，你的信心是大的！照你所要的，給你成全了吧。」從那時候，她女兒就好了。

治好許多病人

29耶穌離開那地方，來到靠近加利利的海邊，就上山坐下。

30有許多人到他那裏，帶着瘸子、瞎子、啞巴、有殘疾的，和好些別的病人，都放在他腳前；他就治好了他們。

31甚至眾人都希奇；因為看見啞巴說話，殘疾的痊癒，瘸子行走，瞎子看見，他們就歸榮耀給以色列的上帝。

耶穌給四千人吃飽

32耶穌叫門徒來，說：「我憐憫這眾人；因為他們同我在這裏已經三天，也沒有吃的了。我不願意叫他們餓着回去，恐怕在路上困乏。」

33門徒說：「我們在這野地，哪裏有這麼多的餅叫這許多人吃飽呢？」

34耶穌說：「你們有多少餅？」他們說：「有七個，還有幾條小魚。」

35他就吩咐眾人坐在地上，

36拿着這七個餅和幾條魚，祝謝了，擘開，遞給門徒；門徒又遞給眾人。

37眾人都吃，並且吃飽了，收拾剩下的零碎，裝滿了七個筐子。

38吃的人，除了婦女孩子，共有四千。

39耶穌叫眾人散去，就上船，來到馬加丹的境界。