Mark 7

1 And there are gathered together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem,2 and had seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defiled, that is, unwashen, hands.3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders;4 and when they come from the market-place, except they bathe themselves, they eat not; and many other things there are, which they have received to hold, washings of cups, and pots, and brasen vessels.)5 And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?6 And he said unto them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.

7 But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.

8 Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.9 And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.10 For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death:11 but ye say, If a man shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is Corban, that is to say, Given to God;12 ye no longer suffer him to do aught for his father or his mother;13 making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do.14 And he called to him the multitude again, and said unto them, Hear me all of you, and understand:15 there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.16 If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.17 And when he was entered into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked of him the parable.18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, it cannot defile him;19 because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught? This he said, making all meats clean.20 And he said, That which proceedeth out of the man, that defileth the man.21 For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,22 covetings, wickednesses, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness:23 all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man.24 And from thence he arose, and went away into the borders of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered into a house, and would have no man know it; and he could not be hid.25 But straightway a woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, having heard of him, came and fell down at his feet.26 Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. And she besought him that he would cast forth the demon out of her daughter.27 And he said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.28 But she answered and saith unto him, Yea, Lord; even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter.30 And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out.31 And again he went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis.32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to lay his hand upon him.33 And he took him aside from the multitude privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue;34 and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.35 And his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it.37 And they were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well; he maketh even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

Mark 7

Breaking Human Traditions

1 Nowt the Phariseess and some of the experts in the lawt who came from Jerusalems gathered around him.2 And they saw that some of Jesus’ disciples ate their bread with unclean hands, that is, unwashed.3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing,t holding fast to the tradition of the elders.4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches.s)s5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eatt with unwashed hands?”

6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearttis far from me.

7 They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’s
8 Having no regardt for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.”s9 He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set ups your tradition.10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’s and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’s11 But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’s (that is, a gift for God),12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother.

13 Thus you nullifyt the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”
14 Thent he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand.

15 There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles him.”ss
17 Nowt when Jesust had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.18 He said to them, “Are you so foolish? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him?19 For it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and then goes out into the sewer.”t (This means all foods are clean.)s20 He said, “What comes out of a person defiles him.21 For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder,22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly.

23 All these evils come from within and defile a person.”

A Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

24 After Jesust left there, he went to the region of Tyre.ss When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know, butt he was not able to escape notice.25 Instead, a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirits immediately heard about him and came and fell at his feet.26 The woman was a Greek, of Syrophoenician origin. Shet asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter.27 He said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and to throw it to the dogs.”ts28 She answered, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”29 Thent he said to her, “Because you said this, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.”

30 She went home and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Healing a Deaf Mute

31 Thent Jesust went out again from the region of Tyres and came through Sidons to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis.s32 They brought to him a deaf man who had difficulty speaking, and they asked him to place his hands on him.33 After Jesust took him aside privately, away from the crowd, he put his fingers in the man’st ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue.s34 Thent he looked up to heaven and said with a sigh, “Ephphatha” (that is, “Be opened”).s35 And immediately the man’st ears were opened, his tongue loosened, and he spoke plainly.36 Jesus ordered them not to tell anything. But as much as he ordered them not to do this, they proclaimed it all the more.t

37 People were completely astounded and said, “He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”