Matthew 15 — Clausal Layout (Greek)

independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecomparativecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

Tradition versus the commandment of God 15:1–9

vv. 1–2 — the Jerusalem delegation and the charge

Τότε προσέρχονται τῷ Ἰησοῦ ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων Φαρισαῖοι καὶ γραμματεῖς λέγοντες·independent — historic present προσέρχονται — the official inquiry arrives from the capital; Τότε, Matthew's scene-opener

Διὰ τί οἱ μαθηταί σου παραβαίνουσιν τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων;content — the charge — παραβαίνω, 'step beyond'; the norm violated is oral tradition, not written Law

οὐ γὰρ νίπτονται τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῶνcause — the evidence — γάρ grounds the accusation in one observed omission

ὅταν ἄρτον ἐσθίωσιν.conditional — temporal ὅταν (typed cnd; no temporal key) — ἄρτον ἐσθίειν, to take a meal; the chapter's bread-thread begins

vv. 3–6 — the counter-charge: God said, but you say

Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς·independent — Semitic 'answered and said' — the speech-frame for the whole reply (vv. 3–9)

Διὰ τί καὶ ὑμεῖς παραβαίνετε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν;content — the counter-question — their own verb παραβαίνω thrown back; ἐντολὴ τοῦ θεοῦ against παράδοσις ὑμῶν

ὁ γὰρ θεὸς εἶπεν·cause — the scriptural ground — 'God said' (Byzantine: 'commanded, saying'); set against 'you say' (v. 5)

Τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα,content — Exod 20:12 — the fifth commandment; τιμᾶν includes material support

καί· Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα θανάτῳ τελευτάτω·content — Exod 21:17 LXX — the capital sanction; θανάτῳ τελευτάτω renders the Hebrew infinitive absolute

ὑμεῖς δὲ λέγετε·content — the antithesis — emphatic ὑμεῖς against ὁ θεός: their counter-ruling

Ὃς ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρί·conditional — indefinite-relative protasis inside quoted speech — leans forward across the vow-words to the apodosis (v. 6)

Δῶρονcontent — the vow-formula itself — Matthew gives only the gloss where Mark 7:11 transliterates Κορβᾶν; the thing is dedicated and withheld

ὃ ἐὰν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῇς,relative — the thing vowed away — precisely the support the parent would have received

οὐ μὴ τιμήσει τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ·content — the apodosis — emphatic οὐ μή + future: the ruling releases the son from the very τιμᾶν God commanded (v. 4); many witnesses add 'or his mother'

καὶ ἠκυρώσατε τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν.content — the verdict — ἀκυρόω, stripping God's word of authority; τὸν λόγον read (rivals: τὸν νόμον, τὴν ἐντολήν); the refrain of v. 3 closes the ring

vv. 7–9 — Isaiah's indictment

ὑποκριταί,content — vocative — ὑποκριτής, the play-actor: the outward role masking the heart

καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν περὶ ὑμῶν Ἠσαΐας λέγων·content — καλῶς — bitingly apt; the citation formula for Isa 29:13

Ὁ λαὸς οὗτος τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ,content — Isa 29:13 LXX — τιμᾷ, the honor-word of vv. 4–6 emptied to lip-motion; the shorter critical text (Byzantine prefixes 'draws near with their mouth')

ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ' ἐμοῦ·content — καρδία — the chapter's key term enters: the far heart behind the near lips (vv. 8, 18, 19)

μάτην δὲ σέβονταί μεcontent — the citation's verdict — worship voided

διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων.participial — the manner that empties the worship — human ἐντάλματα dignified as διδασκαλίαι: the korban case in Isaiah's words

What truly defiles — out of the heart 15:10–20

vv. 10–11 — the maxim to the crowd

Καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τὸν ὄχλονparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on εἶπεν; the audience widens beyond the delegation

εἶπεν αὐτοῖς·independent — the public pronouncement — speech-frame

Ἀκούετε καὶ συνίετε·content — the double summons — συνίημι, the understanding the disciples will be shown to lack (ἀσύνετοι, v. 16)

οὐ τὸ εἰσερχόμενον εἰς τὸ στόμα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον,content — the negative half of the maxim — κοινόω, the cultic defilement-verb that frames the unit (vv. 11, 18, 20); Matthew specifies the mouth

ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐκπορευόμενον ἐκ τοῦ στόματος τοῦτο κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.content — the positive half — εἰσερχόμενον answered by ἐκπορευόμενον; resumptive τοῦτο lands the emphasis

vv. 12–14 — the offended Pharisees: plants and blind guides

Τότε προσελθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ·independent — historic present λέγουσιν — προσέρχομαι, the verb of v. 1, now of the disciples

Οἶδαςcontent — the anxious question — the frame for the report

ὅτι οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἀκούσαντες τὸν λόγον ἐσκανδαλίσθησαν;content — ὅτι-content — σκανδαλίζω, the trap-stick verb: the maxim of v. 11 has scandalized the experts

Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν·independent — the unconcerned reply — speech-frame

Πᾶσα φυτεία ἣν οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ πατήρ μου ὁ οὐράνιος ἐκριζωθήσεται.content — the planting metaphor (cf. Isa 60:21) — divine-passive ἐκριζωθήσεται: eschatological removal of what God did not plant

ἄφετε αὐτούς·content — the dismissal — no appeasement of the offended

τυφλοί εἰσιν ὁδηγοὶ τυφλῶν·content — the longer reading printed ('blind guides of the blind'; rival: 'they are blind guides') — the irony of self-appointed ὁδηγοί

τυφλὸς δὲ τυφλὸν ἐὰν ὁδηγῇ,conditional — protasis inside quoted speech — leans forward on the apodosis; the proverb generalizes

ἀμφότεροι εἰς βόθυνον πεσοῦνται.content — the apodosis — ἀμφότεροι: guide and guided share one ruin

vv. 15–20 — Peter's request and the explanation

Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ Πέτρος εἶπεν αὐτῷ·independent — Peter as spokesman — Matthew's characteristic foregrounding of Peter

Φράσον ἡμῖν τὴν παραβολήν ταύτην.content — the maxim of v. 11 is a παραβολή to them — a riddle; 'this parable' printed (some witnesses: 'the parable')

ὁ δὲ εἶπεν·independent — the explanation begins with a rebuke — speech-frame for vv. 16–20

Ἀκμὴν καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀσύνετοί ἐστε;content — the rebuke — ἀκμήν, 'even yet'; ἀσύνετοι answers the συνίετε of v. 10

οὐ νοεῖτεcontent — the second question — dullness pressed

ὅτι πᾶν τὸ εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς τὸ στόμα εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν χωρεῖcontent — the digestion argument — food's path is merely bodily, never reaching the καρδία

καὶ εἰς ἀφεδρῶνα ἐκβάλλεται;content — the blunt terminus — ἀφεδρών; Matthew keeps Mark's physical candor but not his foods-clean verdict

τὰ δὲ ἐκπορευόμενα ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ἐκ τῆς καρδίας ἐξέρχεται,content — the contrast — mouth traced back to heart: the far heart of Isa 29:13 (v. 8) is the wellspring

κἀκεῖνα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.content — the thesis restated — crasis κἀκεῖνα: those, emphatically, are the defilers

ἐκ γὰρ τῆς καρδίας ἐξέρχονται διαλογισμοὶ πονηροί,cause — the ground — διαλογισμοί, the deliberations from which the deeds spring

φόνοι, μοιχεῖαι, πορνεῖαι, κλοπαί, ψευδομαρτυρίαι, βλασφημίαι.phrase modifier — the vice catalogue — shorter than Mark's thirteen and ordered on the Decalogue's second table (commandments 6–9)

ταῦτά ἐστιν τὰ κοινοῦντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον·content — the summary verdict — the participle gathers the list

τὸ δὲ ἀνίπτοις χερσὶν φαγεῖν οὐ κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.content — only Matthew — the conclusion returns exactly to the charge of v. 2 (ἀνίπτοις): the tradition annulled, the food laws untouched; the redactional crux against Mark 7:19

The Canaanite woman's faith 15:21–28

vv. 21–23 — the cry, the silence, and the disciples' impatience

Καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἐκεῖθενparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on ἀνεχώρησεν

ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὰ μέρη Τύρου καὶ Σιδῶνος.independent — ἀναχωρέω — Matthew's verb of strategic withdrawal; into Gentile territory

καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνὴ Χαναναία ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρίων ἐκείνων ἐξελθοῦσα ἔκραζενindependent — ἰδού presents her — Χαναναία, the archaic enemy-name (Mark: Syrophoenician); iterative imperfect ἔκραζεν, the persistent cry

λέγουσα·participial — pleonastic speech-participle — the frame for her plea

Ἐλέησόν με, κύριε, υἱὸς Δαυίδ·content — the Kyrie eleison of the Gospel — υἱὸς Δαυίδ, Israel's messianic title on Canaanite lips, only in Matthew

ἡ θυγάτηρ μου κακῶς δαιμονίζεται.content — the need — she pleads the mercy for herself (Ἐλέησόν με): the daughter's torment is hers

ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἀπεκρίθη αὐτῇ λόγον.independent — the silence — the scene's one speechless main clause; the first of three barriers her faith will pass

καὶ προσελθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on ἠρώτουν

ἠρώτουν αὐτὸνindependent — iterative imperfect — her crying wears on them

λέγοντες·participial — speech-participle — the frame for their request

Ἀπόλυσον αὐτήν,content — ἀπόλυσον — dismiss her, perhaps 'grant it and be rid of her'; the second barrier

ὅτι κράζει ὄπισθεν ἡμῶν.cause — their reason — the annoyance, not the need

vv. 24–28 — lost sheep, children's bread, and great faith

ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν·independent — the reply — addressed to the disciples, over her head

Οὐκ ἀπεστάλην εἰ μὴ εἰς τὰ πρόβατα τὰ ἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ.content — the mission's scope (cf. 10:6) — divine passive ἀπεστάλην; Israel as God's scattered flock (Ezek 34); the third barrier

ἡ δὲ ἐλθοῦσαparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on προσεκύνει; she breaks through the exchange about her

προσεκύνει αὐτῷindependent — inceptive imperfect προσκυνέω — prostrate homage, Matthew's worship-verb

λέγουσα·participial — speech-participle — the frame for the plea stripped bare

Κύριε, βοήθει μοι.content — three words — the cry reduced to its core; present imperative βοήθει, urgent

ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν·independent — the testing answer — speech-frame

Οὐκ ἔστιν καλὸνcontent — the proverb's judgment — Matthew omits Mark's πρῶτον ('let the children FIRST be fed'), sharpening the test

λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνωνcontent — subject infinitive — ἄρτος again: the covenant blessings as Israel's portion (the bread-thread: vv. 2, 26, 33–37)

καὶ βαλεῖν τοῖς κυναρίοις.content — the saying's edge — κυνάριον, the house-dog diminutive, softens but does not erase the insult; the offense left standing as a test

ἡ δὲ εἶπεν·independent — the riposte — speech-frame

Ναί, κύριε,content — she grants the premise — Ναί: no protest, no self-defense; κύριε for the third time

καὶ γὰρ τὰ κυνάρια ἐσθίει ἀπὸ τῶν ψιχίων τῶν πιπτόντων ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης τῶν κυρίων αὐτῶν.content — the turn — καὶ γάρ, 'for even': she argues from inside his image; ψιχία the crumb-diminutive, κυρίων echoing her own κύριε

τότε ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῇ·independent — τότε — the pivot: at last he speaks to her

Ὦ γύναι, μεγάλη σου ἡ πίστις·content — verbless exclamation — μεγάλη ἡ πίστις: the only 'great faith' in Matthew (against the disciples' ὀλιγόπιστοι); Ὦ of admiration

γενηθήτω σοιcontent — the performative grant — γενηθήτω, the word that works the cure

ὡς θέλεις.comparative — ὡς θέλεις — her will given the measure of the gift

καὶ ἰάθη ἡ θυγάτηρ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας ἐκείνης.independent — healing at a distance — divine passive ἰάθη; ἀπὸ τῆς ὥρας ἐκείνης, Matthew's healing-formula (8:13; 9:22; 17:18)

Healings on the mountain by the sea 15:29–31

Καὶ μεταβὰς ἐκεῖθεν ὁ Ἰησοῦςparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on ἦλθεν; the return from Gentile Phoenicia

ἦλθεν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας,independent — back to the sea — where Mark 7:31 routes through the Decapolis, Matthew simply arrives

καὶ ἀναβὰς εἰς τὸ ὄροςparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on ἐκάθητο; τὸ ὄρος, Matthew's mountain of revelation (5:1; 17:1; 28:16)

ἐκάθητο ἐκεῖ.independent — durative imperfect — the seated posture of the teacher and healer; Matthew generalizes Mark's single deaf-mute cure into a summary

καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ ὄχλοι πολλοὶindependent — προσέρχομαι again — the crowds do what the Jerusalem delegation did (v. 1), to opposite ends

ἔχοντες μεθ' ἑαυτῶν χωλούς, τυφλούς, κυλλούς, κωφούς, καὶ ἑτέρους πολλούς,participial — the affliction-list (order varies among witnesses) — the same four the healed catalogue of v. 31 will reverse

καὶ ἔρριψαν αὐτοὺς παρὰ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ,independent — ἔρριψαν — cast them down in urgent trust at the feet of the seated one

καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτούς·independent — one verb for the mass of cures — the compassion of v. 32 already at work

ὥστε τὸν ὄχλον θαυμάσαιpurpose — ὥστε + infinitive — actual result (typed pur; no result key)

βλέποντας κωφοὺς λαλοῦντας, κυλλοὺς ὑγιεῖς, καὶ χωλοὺς περιπατοῦντας καὶ τυφλοὺς βλέποντας·participial — the Isaianic catalogue (Isa 35:5–6) — the signs of the age of restoration, each affliction of v. 30 undone

καὶ ἐδόξασαν τὸν θεὸν Ἰσραήλ.independent — τὸν θεὸν Ἰσραήλ — covenant language suggesting Gentile voices in the crowd (cf. Isa 29:23): the Canaanite's crumbs multiplying

The feeding of the four thousand 15:32–39

vv. 32–34 — the compassion stated and the inventory taken

Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς προσκαλεσάμενος τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν·independent — the initiative is his — unlike the five thousand (14:15), no one asks; the speech-frame

Σπλαγχνίζομαι ἐπὶ τὸν ὄχλον,content — σπλαγχνίζομαι — the visceral compassion-verb, in the Gospels used only of Jesus and the God-figures of his parables

ὅτι ἤδη ἡμέραι τρεῖς προσμένουσίν μοιcause — the ground — προσμένω: three days' perseverance, the crowd's own quiet fidelity

καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν τί φάγωσιν·cause — coordinate ground — deliberative subjunctive φάγωσιν retained in the indirect frame

καὶ ἀπολῦσαι αὐτοὺς νήστεις οὐ θέλω,content — ἀπολῦσαι — the disciples' verb for the Canaanite (v. 23) refused here: he will not dismiss the hungry

μήποτε ἐκλυθῶσιν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ.purpose — μήποτε — negative purpose/apprehension: ἐκλύομαι, giving out on the road

καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταί·independent — historic present — the perplexity, undimmed by chapter 14

Πόθεν ἡμῖν ἐν ἐρημίᾳ ἄρτοι τοσοῦτοιcontent — verbless question — Πόθεν: the wilderness question of Israel (Num 11:13), asked again after the five thousand

ὥστε χορτάσαι ὄχλον τοσοῦτον;purpose — ὥστε + infinitive of result (typed pur; no result key) — χορτάζω, the satisfaction-verb v. 37 will answer

καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς·independent — historic present — the counter-question

Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε;content — the inventory demanded — he begins from what they hold

οἱ δὲ εἶπαν·independent — the answer — speech-frame

Ἑπτά, καὶ ὀλίγα ἰχθύδια.content — verbless tally — seven loaves, matched by the seven baskets of v. 37; ἰχθύδια, the fish-diminutive

vv. 35–39 — took, gave thanks, broke, gave: all satisfied

καὶ παραγγείλας τῷ ὄχλῳ ἀναπεσεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆνparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on ἔλαβεν; ἀναπεσεῖν, the meal-posture, on bare ground (no green grass, unlike 14:19)

ἔλαβεν τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἄρτους καὶ τοὺς ἰχθύαςindependent — ἔλαβεν — the first of the eucharistic verbs (cf. 26:26)

καὶ εὐχαριστήσαςparticipial — preposed aorist participle — εὐχαριστέω here where 14:19 has εὐλογέω; leans on ἔκλασεν

ἔκλασενindependent — ἔκλασεν — the breaking, one bare verb

καὶ ἐδίδου τοῖς μαθηταῖς,independent — iterative imperfect ἐδίδου after the aorists — the distribution pictured in motion

οἱ δὲ μαθηταὶ τοῖς ὄχλοις.independent — elliptical — ἐδίδουν supplied: the disciples relay the bread they could not supply (v. 33)

καὶ ἔφαγον πάντεςindependent — πάντες — no one passed over

καὶ ἐχορτάσθησαν,independent — ἐχορτάσθησαν — the disciples' χορτάσαι (v. 33) answered to the full

καὶ τὸ περισσεῦον τῶν κλασμάτων ἦραν,independent — the surplus — abundance beyond satisfaction, from seven loaves

ἑπτὰ σπυρίδας πλήρεις.phrase modifier — apposition of measure — σπυρίδες, large hampers, against the κόφινοι of the five thousand: the distinction 16:9–10 turns on

οἱ δὲ ἐσθίοντες ἦσαν τετρακισχίλιοι ἄνδρες χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων.independent — the tally — χωρὶς γυναικῶν καὶ παιδίων, Matthew's enlarging note (as at 14:21)

Καὶ ἀπολύσας τοὺς ὄχλουςparticipial — preposed circumstantial — leans on ἐνέβη; now, fed, they may be dismissed (against v. 32)

ἐνέβη εἰς τὸ πλοῖον,independent — the embarkation — the scene closes on the water

καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς τὰ ὅρια Μαγαδάν.independent — Μαγαδάν — the best-attested and hardest reading (many witnesses: Μαγδαλά; Mark 8:10: Δαλμανουθά); site unknown, western shore

Analysis. Matthew 15 runs Mark 7 through Matthew's tighter loom, and the layout shows both the narrative spine and the argument hung on it. The flush-left purple column carries Matthew's connectives — Τότε twice opening scenes (vv. 1, 12), δέ trading the dialogue back and forth, καί stringing the mountain healings and the feeding — with the historic presents (προσέρχονται, λέγουσιν, λέγει) flagged as they land. All speech hangs blue (cnt) beneath its verb of saying, and this chapter is mostly speech: the Pharisees' charge under λέγοντες with its γάρ-evidence one step deeper; Jesus' counter-question under εἶπεν, grounded by ὁ γὰρ θεὸς εἶπεν (Exod 20:12; 21:17) set antithetically against ὑμεῖς δὲ λέγετε, whose korban ruling runs as a protasis chain inside quoted speech — Ὃς ἂν εἴπῃ leaning forward, the bare vow-word Δῶρον hanging under εἴπῃ with its relative beneath, and the emphatic apodosis οὐ μὴ τιμήσει landing two levels up (Matthew drops Mark's Κορβᾶν transliteration and keeps only the gloss); then the Isa 29:13 LXX citation under Ἠσαΐας's λέγων. The defilement teaching keeps Matthew's focus on the mouth and the heart — note that Matthew's vice list (v. 19) follows the order of the second table of the Decalogue, and that v. 20 returns the whole argument to the original charge, 'to eat with unwashed hands' — where Mark's editorial 'cleansing all foods' verdict is conspicuously absent: Matthew's conclusion annuls the tradition, not the food laws, a redactional crux the tags name. In the Canaanite woman's scene the exchanges alternate rapidly at the margin — her cry, his silence (the one speechless main clause), the disciples' Ἀπόλυσον, the lost-sheep saying, her προσεκύνει, the children's-bread proverb with its subject infinitives under καλόν, her Ναί, κύριε riposte — until the exclamation Ὦ γύναι, μεγάλη σου ἡ πίστις (verbless, dashed) reverses the οὐκ ἀπεστάλην: Matthew alone has the woman address Jesus as υἱὸς Δαυίδ and alone has faith named as what wins. The healing summary rises to the Isaianic catalogue (Isa 35:5–6) under the crowd's marveling, closing on 'the God of Israel' glorified — likely by Gentile lips. The feeding of the four thousand runs the eucharistic verbs flush left (ἔλαβεν, ἔκλασεν, ἐδίδου) with the two preposed participles (παραγγείλας, εὐχαριστήσας) leaning forward anchor-less, the disciples' relay an elliptical dashed line, and the seven baskets (σπυρίδες, not the κόφινοι of the five thousand — the distinction 16:9–10 will trade on) hung as verbless apposition beneath ἦραν; Μαγαδάν, the best-attested and hardest place-name, closes the chapter.