Mark 7-8

English Standard Version

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.”