JMNT(i)
1 At that time, Pharisees and scribes (scholars and theologians of the Law) from Jerusalem progressively made an approach to Jesus, [and as a group] were saying,
2 "Why (= Through what reason or situation) are your disciples habitually side-stepping (thus, deviating from) the tradition of the Elders? For example, they are not regularly washing [their] hands [to make them ritually clean] whenever they may be periodically eating bread (= a meal)."
3 So He, giving a decided reply, said to them, "Why (or: Through what situation or reasoning) are you people habitually side-stepping and deviating from God's implanted goals (impartation of the finished product within; inward directives) through your tradition?
4 "For God said, 'Be habitually honoring and expressing value for the father and the mother,' [Ex. 20:12] and, 'The person habitually saying a bad, ugly or worthless word or message to or concerning (= verbally abusing) father or mother, let him progressively come to fruition (or: reach his end; be finished) in (or: by) death.' [Ex. 21:17]
5 "Yet you, yourselves, are habitually maintaining, 'Whoever may at some point say to the father or the mother, "Whatever from me should have benefited or helped you [is now] a 'gift' [cf "Corban," Mark 7:11; meaning: a gift to God; i.e., it is consecrated for God's use, and can at any time be claimed for Temple use, and is thus unusable for any other purpose],
6 "'he shall by no means honor [a request for help from] his father (= he will be rid of the duty to honor his father; or: he will not [in this] be not honoring his father).' And thus you people at once invalidate (make void of authority; cancel and make of no effect) God's idea, word and message through you tradition!
7 " [You] perverse scholars who in micro-scrutinizing make decisions from a low position [see ch. 6:2]! Isaiah beautifully and aptly prophesies about (or: concerning) you folks, continually saying,
8 -720 'This people habitually honor Me with [their] lips, yet it constantly holds their heart far away from Me (or: yet their heart continuously holds [itself] off, distant from Me).
9 'So they habitually revere Me and commit acts of devotion to Me in vain (to no profit; fruitlessly), repeatedly giving instruction concerning teachings [that are] directions coming from mankind (or: constantly teaching for " [the] teachings" [the] results of inner goals and commands of humans {or: man made rules}).'" [Isa. 29:13]
10 With that, upon calling the crowd to Himself, He said to them, "Be constantly listening, so as to hear. And let things flow together, so as to understand:
11 "The things normally and habitually entering into the mouth do not repeatedly make the person unclean (common; contaminated; defiled; polluted). To the contrary, [it is] the things habitually emerging and flowing forth from out of the mouth – this is constantly making the person contaminated (unclean; common)!"
12 At that point, after approaching, the disciples proceed saying to Him, "Did You see, or are You aware, that the Pharisees were caused to trip the bait stick and stumble into [their own] trap (or: were snared and offended; perhaps: were horrified) at hearing [that] thought and idea (or: the word; the message; = that remark)?"
13 Yet He, giving a decided reply, said, "Every plant, which My Father – the heavenly One (or: the One Who inhabits, and can be compared to, the atmosphere) – did not plant, will be pulled out by the roots.
14 "Abandon them at once! (other choices: Divorce them; Let them flow away; Leave them; Leave them [alone]; Send them away; Let them go!) They exist being blind guides of the Path (or: blind leaders of the Way). Now if a blind person should ever lead or guide [another] blind person, both people will proceed to be falling into a pit!"
15 Now Peter, after trying to separate the elements of the discourse and to discern the meaning of what He had spoken, said to Him, "Expound the parable in distinct terms and explain the meaning to (or: for) us (or: Tell us plainly the interpretation of the illustration)."
16 So Jesus said, "At this point in time, do you folks, as well, continue being unable to let things flow together, and are you without comprehension?
17 "Are you not habitually using your minds and your intelligence to carefully think, that everything normally and habitually flowing into the mouth is progressively moving on into the stomach and then the intestines, and later is periodically discharged (or: thrust out) into a toilet or a sewer?
18 "Yet the things constantly emerging and flowing forth out of the mouth are continually coming forth from out of the midst of the heart (the core of the individual; the self as a whole, at its deepest level, which is the individual's animating and driving force [note: I owe these last phrases to Marcus Borg, The Heart of Christianity]) – and those things continually make the person contaminated, defiled, ceremonially unclean and common.
19 "For example, from out of the heart (the core of our being) habitually come forth worthless reasonings (wicked designs; considerations having a bad quality; miserable and laborious dialogues and arguments), murders, adulteries, fornications and prostitutions, sexual immoralities (fornications; prostitutions), thefts, false testimonies (or: false presentations of evidence), blasphemies (malicious slanders; abusive misrepresentations).
20 "These continue being the things that are making the person contaminated (unclean; defiled; common) – yet to eat a meal with unwashed hands does not make the person common, contaminated or unclean!"
21 So next, upon going out from that place, Jesus withdrew back into the parts (= districts) of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And then – look and consider! – a Canaanite (= Phoenician) woman from the boundaries of those regions, upon coming out [to Him], cried out, repeatedly saying, "O Lord (Master) – Son of David – mercy me right now (or: extend the effects of compassion to me quickly)! My daughter is being repeatedly affected in an ugly way by demons (or: is incessantly badly-demonized [Hellenistic term, concept and belief: = affected by animism])!"
23 But He did not give a word of decision or reply to her. Then His disciples, upon approaching, began making a request to Him, saying, "Set her free, and then dismiss her, because she keeps on crying out behind us."
24 Yet He, making a discerning reply, said, "I was not commissioned and sent off as an emissary (representative) – except into the midst of those sheep having been destroyed, the ones that belong to the house of Israel (or: unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel)."
25 Yet she, upon coming, continued paying Him homage by kneeling down and with obeisance kissing toward Him, even reverently kissing His feet, repeatedly saying, "O Lord (or: Master; Sir), be now running to my aid and continue to give help to me!"
26 Now He, responding from discernment, said, "It is not proper or ideal (thus, it is not an act of beauty) to take the children's bread and to throw it to the little pet dogs!"
27 So the [woman] said, "Yes, sir. And yet... you see... the little pet dogs and puppies habitually eat from the crumbs which are constantly falling from their owner's (or: master's) table!"
28 At that point Jesus, in making a decided reply, said to her, "O woman (or: O dear lady), your trust, faith and confidence [are] great! Let it at once come to be and happen just as you continue intending and desiring." And so, from that hour, her daughter was cured and healed.
29 Next, re-directing His steps from out of that place, Jesus went along the lake (or: sea) of Galilee. Then, after walking up into the mountain (or: hill country), He sat down and was continuing sitting there.
30 Then many crowds came toward Him, [they] having with them, or continuing in holding, lame and crippled folks, blind people, maimed and deformed ones or those with crooked [bodies], mute folks, as well as many [people with] different [maladies], and they deposited (as it were, tossed) them near His feet – and He tended, attentively served, gave treatment to, began therapy with, prescribed ongoing treatment for, or cured and healed them,
31 so that the crowd marveled with rapture and amazement – consecutively seeing mute ones speaking and lame ones walking around, then blind folks now seeing – and they gave credit to the God of Israel, enhancing His reputation.
32 Now Jesus, upon calling His disciples to Himself, said, "I am being progressively moved with compassion (in my gut) upon the crowd, because they are yet continuing in staying with Me and keeping their focus toward Me three days already, and they are still not having something that they can be eating – and I am not intending (or: wanting) to release them and send them off fasting (= being without food and hungry), lest at some point they are caused to faint (be loosed from out of their midst) in the path (or: on the road)."
33 And so the disciples are as a group saying to Him, "From where [are there] so many loaves of bread in an uninhabited region so as to feed and satisfy a crowd of this size?"
34 Then Jesus proceeds saying to them, "How many loaves of bread do you men still have?" And they replied, "Seven, and a few little fishes."
35 So, after directing the crowd to recline back upon the ground,
36 He took the seven loaves of bread and the fishes and, expressing the goodness of grace and offering thanks for the favor of the wellness in the gift, He broke [them] and began distributing to the disciples, and then the disciples [gave them] to the crowds.
37 And so everyone ate and all were fed until satisfied. Then folks picked up the surplus of the broken pieces [of food] – seven large provision baskets (or: woven hampers) filled full [of leftovers]!
38 Now those participating in the eating were four thousand adult males – apart from [counting] women and young children.
39 At last, after dismissing and releasing away the crowds, He stepped on into the little boat, and they went into the boundary regions of Magadan [other MSS: Magdala].