Matthew 15:21-39

Common English Bible

Canaanite woman

²¹ From there, Jesus went to the regions of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from those territories came out and shouted, “Show me mercy, Son of David. My daughter is suffering terribly from demon possession.” ²³ But he didn’t respond to her at all.

His disciples came and urged him, “Send her away; she keeps shouting out after us.”

²⁴ Jesus replied, “I’ve been sent only to the lost sheep, the people of Israel.”

²⁵ But she knelt before him and said, “Lord, help me.”

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

²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall off their masters’ table.”

²⁸ Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith. It will be just as you wish.” And right then her daughter was healed.

Healing of many people

²⁹ Jesus moved on from there along the shore of the Galilee Sea. He went up a mountain and sat down. ³⁰ Large crowds came to him, including those who were paralyzed, blind, injured, and unable to speak, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them. ³¹ So the crowd was amazed when they saw those who had been unable to speak talking, and the paralyzed cured, and the injured walking, and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Feeding the four thousand

³² Now Jesus called his disciples and said, “I feel sorry for the crowd because they have been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry for fear they won’t have enough strength to travel.”

³³ His disciples replied, “Where are we going to get enough food in this wilderness to satisfy such a big crowd?”

³⁴ Jesus said, “How much bread do you have?”

They responded, “Seven loaves and a few fish.”

³⁵ He told the crowd to sit on the ground. ³⁶ He took the seven loaves of bread and the fish. After he gave thanks, he broke them into pieces and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ Everyone ate until they were full. The disciples collected seven baskets full of leftovers. ³⁸ Four thousand men ate, plus women and children. ³⁹ After dismissing the crowds, Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan.