¹⁴ Then Jesus called the crowd again and said, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand. ¹⁵ Nothing outside of a person can enter and contaminate a person in God’s sight; rather, the things that come out of a person contaminate the person.”^[a]

¹⁷ After leaving the crowd, he entered a house where his disciples asked him about that riddle. ¹⁸ He said to them, “Don’t you understand either? Don’t you know that nothing from the outside that enters a person has the power to contaminate? ¹⁹ That’s because it doesn’t enter into the heart but into the stomach, and it goes out into the sewer.” By saying this, Jesus declared that no food could contaminate a person in God’s sight. ²⁰ “It’s what comes out of a person that contaminates someone in God’s sight,” he said. ²¹ “It’s from the inside, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come: sexual sins, thefts, murders, ²² adultery, greed, evil actions, deceit, unrestrained immorality, envy, insults, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from the inside and contaminate a person in God’s sight.”

An immigrant’s daughter is delivered

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went into the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he had entered a house, but he couldn’t hide. ²⁵ In fact, a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard about him right away. She came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was Greek, Syrophoenician by birth. She begged Jesus to throw the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ He responded, “The children have to be fed first. It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸ But she answered, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ “Good answer!” he said. “Go on home. The demon has already left your daughter.” ³⁰ When she returned to her house, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.

A deaf man is healed

³¹ After leaving the region of Tyre, Jesus went through Sidon toward the Galilee Sea through the region of the Ten Cities. ³² Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged him to place his hand on the man for healing. ³³ Jesus took him away from the crowd by himself and put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Looking into heaven, Jesus sighed deeply and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up.” ³⁵ At once, his ears opened, his twisted tongue was released, and he began to speak clearly.

³⁶ Jesus gave the people strict orders not to tell anyone. But the more he tried to silence them, the more eagerly they shared the news. ³⁷ People were overcome with wonder, saying, “He does everything well! He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who can’t speak.”