Traditions and Commandments

7 ^(A)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes ^(B)who had come from Jerusalem, ² they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^(C)defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,^[a] holding to ^(D)the tradition of ^(E)the elders, ⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.^[b] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as ^(F)the washing of ^(G)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.^[c]) ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^(H)the tradition of ^(I)the elders, ^(J)but eat with ^(K)defiled hands?” ⁶ And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^(L)hypocrites, as it is written,

⁸ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of ^(O)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ^(P)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(Q)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)^[d]— ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus ^(R)making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁴ And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^(S)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: ^15 (T)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”^{[e] 17} And when he had entered ^(U)the house and left the people, ^(V)his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then ^(W)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart ^(X)but his stomach, and is expelled?”^[f] (^(Y)Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, ^(Z)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^(AA)murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, ^(AB)sensuality, ^(AC)envy, ^(AD)slander, ^(AE)pride, ^(AF)foolishness. ^23 (AG)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

²⁴ And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.^[g] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. ²⁵ But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. ^26 (AH)Now the woman was a ^(AI)Gentile, ^(AJ)a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And he said to her, “Let the children be ^(AK)fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and ^(AL)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's ^(AM)crumbs.” ²⁹ And he said to her, “For this statement you may ^(AN)go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰ And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

^31 (AO)Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to ^(AP)the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the ^(AQ)Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him ^(AR)a man who was deaf and ^(AS)had a speech impediment, and they begged him to ^(AT)lay his hand on him. ³³ And ^(AU)taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and ^(AV)after spitting touched his tongue. ³⁴ And ^(AW)looking up to heaven, ^(AX)he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ^35 (AY)And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ And ^(AZ)Jesus^[h] charged them to tell no one. But ^(BA)the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were ^(BB)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8 ^(BC)In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ^2 (BD)“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” ⁴ And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” ⁵ And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^(BE)“Seven.” ⁶ And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and ^(BF)having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ⁷ And they had a few small fish. And ^(BG)having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. ⁸ And ^(BH)they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, ^(BI)seven baskets full. ⁹ And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately he got into ^(BJ)the boat with his disciples and went to the district of ^(BK)Dalmanutha.^[i]

The Pharisees Demand a Sign

^11 (BL)The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, ^(BM)seeking from him ^(BN)a sign from heaven ^(BO)to test him. ¹² And ^(BP)he sighed deeply ^(BQ)in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³ And ^(BR)he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

¹⁴ Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; ^(BS)beware of ^(BT)the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of ^(BU)Herod.”^{[j] 16} And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. ¹⁷ And ^(BV)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? ^(BW)Do you not yet perceive ^(BX)or understand? ^(BY)Are your hearts hardened? ^18 (BZ)Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹ When I broke ^(CA)the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” ²⁰ “And ^(CB)the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” ²¹ And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² And they came ^(CC)to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. ²³ And ^(CD)he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when ^(CE)he had ^(CF)spit on his eyes and ^(CG)laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵ Then Jesus^[k] laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ And he sent him to his home, saying, ^(CH)“Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^27 (CI)And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, ^(CJ)“John the Baptist; and others say, ^(CK)Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, ^(CL)“You are ^(CM)the Christ.” ^30 (CN)And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^31 (CO)And he began to teach them that ^(CP)the Son of Man must ^(CQ)suffer many things and ^(CR)be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and ^(CS)after three days rise again. ³² And he said this ^(CT)plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ^(CU)“Get behind me, Satan! For you ^(CV)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(CW)deny himself and ^(CX)take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For ^(CY)whoever would save his life^[l] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake ^(CZ)and the gospel's will save it. ^36 (DA)For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For ^(DB)what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸ For ^(DC)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this ^(DD)adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed ^(DE)when he comes in the glory of his Father with ^(DF)the holy angels.”

Warning Against Going to Egypt

42 Then ^(A)all the commanders of the forces, and ^(B)Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of ^(C)Hoshaiah, and all the people ^(D)from the least to the greatest, came near ² and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let ^(E)our plea for mercy come before you, and ^(F)pray to the Lord your God for us, for all ^(G)this remnant—^(H)because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us— ³ that ^(I)the Lord your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” ⁴ Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I will pray to the Lord your God according to your request, and ^(J)whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you. ^(K)I will keep nothing back from you.” ⁵ Then they said to Jeremiah, ^(L)“May the Lord be a true and ^(M)faithful witness against us ^(N)if we do not act according to all the word ^(O)with which the Lord your God sends you to us. ⁶ Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, ^(P)that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”

^7 (Q)At the end of ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. ⁸ Then he summoned ^(R)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(S)all the commanders of the forces who were with him, and all the people ^(T)from the least to the greatest, ⁹ and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(U)to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before him: ¹⁰ If you will remain in this land, ^(V)then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; ^(W)for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. ^11 (X)Do not fear the king of Babylon, ^(Y)of whom you are afraid. ^(Z)Do not fear him, declares the Lord, ^(AA)for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. ^12 (AB)I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land. ^13 (AC)But if you say, ‘We will not remain in this land,’ disobeying the voice of the Lord your God ¹⁴ and saying, ‘No, ^(AD)we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or ^(AE)hear the sound of the trumpet or ^(AF)be hungry for bread, and we will dwell there,’ ¹⁵ then hear the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AG)If you set your faces to enter Egypt ^(AH)and go to live there, ¹⁶ then the sword ^(AI)that you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you to Egypt, ^(AJ)and there you shall die. ¹⁷ All the men who set their faces to go to Egypt to live there shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. They shall have ^(AK)no remnant or survivor from the disaster that I will bring upon them.

¹⁸ “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^(AL)As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. ^(AM)You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. ¹⁹ The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ^(AN)‘Do not go to Egypt.’ ^(AO)Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day ²⁰ that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. ^(AP)For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ^(AQ)‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and ^(AR)whatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.’ ²¹ And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything ^(AS)that he sent me to tell you. ^22 (AT)Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.”

Jeremiah Taken to Egypt

43 When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, ² Azariah the son of ^(AU)Hoshaiah and ^(AV)Johanan the son of Kareah and ^(AW)all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ^(AX)‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,’ ³ but ^(AY)Baruch the son of Neriah ^(AZ)has set you against us, ^(BA)to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.” ⁴ So ^(BB)Johanan the son of Kareah and all ^(BC)the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah. ⁵ But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took ^(BD)all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven— ^6 (BE)the men, the women, the children, ^(BF)the princesses, and every person whom ^(BG)Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with ^(BH)Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. ⁷ And they came into the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they arrived at ^(BI)Tahpanhes.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in ^(BJ)Tahpanhes: ⁹ “Take in your hands large stones and hide them in the mortar in the pavement that is at the entrance to Pharaoh's palace in ^(BK)Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, ¹⁰ and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^(BL)my servant, ^(BM)and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden, and he will spread his royal canopy over them. ¹¹ He shall come ^(BN)and strike the land of Egypt, ^(BO)giving over to the pestilence those who are doomed to the pestilence, to captivity those who are doomed to captivity, and to the sword those who are doomed to the sword. ^12 (BP)I shall kindle a fire ^(BQ)in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them ^(BR)and carry them away captive. ^(BS)And he shall clean the land of Egypt ^(BT)as a shepherd cleans his cloak of vermin, and he shall go away from there in peace. ¹³ He shall break the ^(BU)obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt, ^(BV)and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.’”